Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance
by UltrraShaddow
Summary: It's time for the naming of a new guardian. Join Shadow, Sonic, and the others as they take a trip to Angel Island. Will the new guardian to be ascend and be found worthy as the next guardian of the Master Emerald? Or fail and have utter chaos ensue?
1. Maria

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Yeah I did say that there wouldn't be a sequel to Love's Burn however, I didn't say that there would be another story about it! (Muwahaha!) This epilogue isn't a sequel, it's…well, an epilogue!

-So yes, by popular demand, after 4 months in the making; the whole gang (And then some) is back with another adventure: The naming of a new guardian of the Master Emerald.

-And what a better day than my _**b-day**_ to release a new story. So read, enjoy, leave a review, and be merry. I gotta go out to celebrate tonight!

--"_Well, I guess. Now where's Sonic? He promised me that he'd beat me in some Super Smash bros. Not that I believe him for one second. I mean, he plays as freakin' Pikachu and I'm unbeatable with Samus. Samus 'the murderer' Aran."_

_His wife looked displeased, "...Did you just make up that nickname right now?"_

_"...No." _

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

The April winds passed through the city with a soft sigh; truly the first days of Spring were just beginning to come around the corner. Snow had melted from the city's streets and buildings and instead of a landscape of white snow, a flurry of colorful flowers took its place.

Today wasn't quite as lovely as the other first few days of Spring, but the addition of the April showers with the sunshine brought beautiful ribbons of rainbows to the pastel blue sky.

It had been eighteen years since the Sahara incident, where Shadow lost his mind. But the cause of his insanity had stemmed from the loss of Rouge, the treasure huntress with beguiling sapphire eyes.

Eighteen years ago, in Eggman's base located in the Sahara Dessert, the late Doctor unleashed a great evil upon the world. His final and most advanced creation was project 0012946, better known as Achilles, a cobalt-eyed hedgehog who was as gold as Shadow was dark.

Just like the Greek mythical hero he was named after, the gold hedgehog was a powerful, war-bent warrior with a wrathful fury. The only way the group of heroes: Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Tikal, Cream, and Scythe, a bad-tempered black and silver hedgehog, and an affable girl hedgehog named Daisy, were able to combat the potent Achilles through using the power of the Master Emerald.

Tikal, as one of the guardians of the Master Emerald, helped Shadow absorb the energy of the mystical jewel. This gave Shadow enough power to effectively combat Eggman's most powerful creation. But tragically, Shadow failed to finish Achilles before he slaughtered Rouge.

This loss had driven Shadow to the depths of insanity where, even after receiving a fatal wound, he beat Achilles savagely, dragged him halfway across the Sahara desert, and destroyed any villages in the process. Villagers who had seen, let alone experienced Shadow's savage rage had given him the title, "the green and black demon."

It was only through the help of a human girl named Julie Robontik, who was indeed the daughter of the infamous Eggman, that Shadow was able to regain his senses and escape a horrible fate at the hands of furious villagers. Despite being a Robotnik, Julie proved herself to be an ally to Shadow as she had saved not only his life, but that of his infant daughter…

It seemed that this had all happened so long along go…

But now Rouge's daughter, who Shadow named Rouge Maria in memory of his lost loves, closed the door behind herself. Interestingly enough, Rouge Maria was a spitting image of her mother; ivory white fur, strong build, dark wings; it was as if Shadow's genes had been denied in her physical makeup.

The only physical trait of Shadow's Maria carried were her luminous plum eyes; a mixture of Shadow's red and Rouge's blue; Shadow's little girl had blossomed into quite the stunning young lady.

Rouge Maria, Maria to close friends, had made a mad trek from her school's varsity team volleyball game as she was still adorned in the team's blue, white and black uniform top and dark blue spandex shorts.

Her trek home had been much quicker, due to the influence of rain. As she entered her house she was greeted not only to the form of her father, but to those of her Godparents, Sonic and Amy. Her other pair of Godparents were out on their shift of work.

Apparently Maria had just walked in on the middle of one of her family's chess games; Shadow and Sonic sat at one of the living room's marble tables playing chess. Shadow was reclined in his chair with a pleasant, yet smug look on his face and Sonic was bent over the board, looking as frustrated as possible.

Amy Rose was busy in the kitchen preparing a meal worthy of a Friday night. Over time, Amy had opted to dressing in a red camisole and blue jeans. The 'red dress' as Sonic had called it, was used nowadays for more formal occasions, like going out to fine dining. They all looked up to the sound of the front door opening and Sonic quickly swapped a piece from the board.

"Hey Superstar!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Well, look who's home!" Amy sang happily, drying a floral imprinted dish.

Maria grinned, "Hi Dad, uncle, and auntie. Oh man, dinner smells so good! I'm famished."

Maria dropped her bags and pulled up a chair next to her father. Once she was in reach of the ultimate life form, he gave her a high-five and ruffled her hair. Maria giggled happily as Amy crept into the room and gave the young bat a hug. Sonic opted to wink at his Goddaughter, who smiled appreciatively.

"So how did your game go tonight, Maria?" Shadow asked, as Sonic swiped another chess piece, "We all would have been there but…"

"I know," Maria smiled, "Crime never sleeps. But we totally destroyed Westopolis High! We have another game next week; maybe you guys can make it then."

"We'll be there," Shadow answered.

This time, when Sonic tried to change yet another chess piece, Shadow, without even looking, managed to pound his intruding hand with a fist.

Sonic yelped in surprise and glared as Shadow slowly turned to face him, "…Did you _really_ think you were going to get away with all of that, Sonic?!"

"Yo momma!"

Maria giggled as Shadow shot Sonic a sly look, "Next time, try not to be so obvious."

"Next time," Sonic retorted, mocking Shadow's deep voice, "Try not to be so ugly!"

This time, Maria and Amy burst out into a full out laughter as Shadow mischievously made his way over to Sonic and began to assault him. Sonic began to return his blows and they started to play-fight each other, like two lion clubs. Amy rolled her eyes, "Oh, they will never grow up!"

The pink hedgehog smiled and placed her hand on Maria's shoulder affectionately, only to frown and remove her hand, "Maria! You're soaked!"

"Oh yeah…I forgot…"

"Well get upstairs young lady, and take a hot shower, now!"

Maria frowned, "But auntie I'm fine! I--"

Amy titled Maria's chair backwards, just enough so the young girl was leaned back. Amy looked down at her from overhead and poked the girl in the nose, silencing her, "No buts! Now up you go! A nice, hot dinner will be waiting for you, young lady."

With a sigh, Maria relinquished to Amy's will and made her way upstairs. She stopped in her room, which was relatively messy; unlike her father's room, it was inhumanly tidy. Shadow had no idea where her 'messy-streak' hailed from: he himself was a neat freak and he was pretty sure that Rouge had been relatively orderly as well.

It seemed like every time he made Maria clean her room, within an hour, it was back to the way it was before. Amy blamed that and her messy personality on Shadow's inability of raising her properly.

"_She's becoming a lady, Shadow_!" Amy had hissed at him, "_And as so, she needs proper reinforcements in her life! It's very unbecoming of a young lady to be a sob! …Now go order burritos, and nachos for dinner…"_

She tromped through a couple piles of clothes on her blue floor and plucked a few clean garments from her dresser. After absently running her hand through her sweaty, wet strands of hair, she made her way to the bathroom.

Just when Maria reached for the doorknob, the door opened from the other side and the momentum pulled her forward, "Whoa!"

Steam exited the room in thick clouds as the door creaked open and Maria found herself nearly face to face with a hedgehog. He had cyan-green eyes and a rich, sapphire blue coat that was a few shades darker than a clear sky.

The boy who was staring back at her was Flash, Sonic and Amy's son. But their relationship stemmed past that of their parents; they had played with each other ever since they could first walk.

Ever since, they've been best friends, oblivious to the fact that their best friend was the opposite gender. Although over the recent years, Maria began to notice that, as weird as it sounded, Flash was a boy.

She first realized, or had her eyes opened to this fact when Maria's girlfriends were drooling over him, her best friend since forever!

She also found it odd that everyone thought the two of them were an item, because they were always seen together laughing or fooling around. But recently, things turned just plain weird when Flash began acting differently; like going completely out of his way to talk to her, sneaking side glances at her when he was sure she wasn't aware, and the best yet, his odd new blushing and trying to play it off.

It was only when her best _female_ friend pointed out how attractive Flash was, '_He is sooo freakin' hawt_!' was when Maria began to think of him as a handsome guy.

Not to mention that it was an added bonus that Flash was a strapping, stud football player who made the floor crack under every step he took; at school, guys wanted to be him and girls wanted to have him.

Best of all, even with all the added fame, Flash was still the nice, easy-going guy he always had been. Only now Maria noticed that he was the nice, easy-going guy…

With the perfect eyes…

Rock-hard build…

And a handsome face.

It was only when Maria realized that she had almost bumped into a wet, towel-clad Flash that her face took on an added shade of rose, "Oh damn! I-I'm so sorry! I should have knocked."

Flash blinked, then laughed, "What are you talking about Superstar? I nearly swung you across the room. Anyway, I was on my way out."

He moved to the side so she could move pass, but she stopped in her tracks when he presented a question, "You had a game today?"

"Hmm?" Maria looked up until she met green-gold eyes.

"You had a game?" he vaguely motioned to her uniform, "Who did you play?"

"Oh! We played Westopolis High!" then Maria's smile turned evil, "And we beat the hell out of 'em! Serves them right for defacing our school!"

Flash nodded his head, "Well that's good, we'll play them Friday night at seven."

Maria smiled, "Man, Westopolis High is our biggest rival! When we beat them earlier today, they were all crying! That's gonna be our biggest football game of the year! There's gonna be at least a thousand in the crowd! You're gonna be so famous!!"

"Yeah," Flash replied with a sigh as he gazed away from her, "…I just hope I don't screw up."

Rouge Maria gasped, "…Are you serious? Where in the world did this self consciousness come from!? You're Station Square High's best player, if not the best in the district! You've broken most of the school's records, even some of your dad's. You're the fastest wide receiver to ever walk our school! And that says a lot, 'cause your dad, Sonic _the_ Hedgehog, once upon a time was a wide receiver at our school."

"Good point Superstar," Flash replied, as Maria smiled back at him, "But I owe all my success to dad; he's been my coach since day one."

"Well," Maria smiled even brighter, "Your dad is…like the fastest hedgehog to run the planet…_next_ to my dad, that is."

Flash arched an eyebrow, "Is that so? We should make a bet on that one."

Being as much as a devil dare as Flash knew her to be, Maria accepted with a dark smile, "You're on!"

"When and if our dad's race, and _when_ my dad wins," Flash deliberately paused and looked up thoughtfully, "You'll go out on another date with me…and wear a dress."

Maria frowned; anyone and everyone who knew the girl knew that she hated wearing dresses, make up, or doing any traditional girlie things outside of hygiene; this was why she probably had a reputation for being such a tomboy.

Then, Maria answered Flash back with a dark smile, "Fine then, but _when my_ dad wins, you'll go to school wearing a cheerleader's uniform."

Maria laughed as Flash invisibly blanched. Although Flash couldn't be characterized as macho, he still had his pride. Maria put her hand out before him, "Do we have a deal?"

Flash looked at her hand, then back at the smirking girl before shaking her hand, "…I want a _red_ dress and high heels."

Maria burst out into another torrent of laughter as she shook Flash's hand. After the deal was sealed, the sapphire blue hedgehog looked back at her with a serious gaze, "…So on Friday night when we play Westopolis High…will you be there?"

The purple-eyed bat's once devilish smile turned soft, "Of course I will. I'll be out in the crowd of your millions and zillions of fans. Just don't let me see you fumble the ball, Flashy."

Flash laughed, "Right. Well, I better end this before it gets anymore weird, with me practically standing naked in your hallway."

Maria laughed nervously as she gazed at the floor. Briefly she wondered just how many girls would pay to be in her position. She looked up at Flash when she heard his deep, yet somehow light voice.

She looked into lucid yellow-green eyes, "…But you know, the crowd doesn't matter to me…as long as you're there, that's all I need."

If Maria had thought he was staring at her deeply before, now he was gazing into her eyes as if peering into her soul. She ignored the few stray strands of bangs that fell into her eyes as Flash gazed at her. Although his face was perfectly straight, somehow he was able to look both perfectly serious and yet passionate at the same time.

The smaller white bat suddenly felt that the rising tension between them was too much, like the temperature had increased wickedly. She took a small scoot away from him, '_Oh my goodness, what is wrong with me!? And why in the hell is he staring at me like that!? Looks like he's trying to set me on fire with his laser vision or something. Whatever, this is too freaky….I gotta get the hell outta here_!!'

Maria covered her burning face as she slid passed Flash, "…Um…Excuse me…I need a shower!"

With that, she slammed the door, leaving a semi confused Flash looking back after her, "…Um…"

* * *

The rainy afternoon transformed into a rainy night. But with both Sonic and Amy's company, Shadow was not in the least bit bored. They spent most of their evening in their living room, nicknamed the 'headquarters' by Sonic, because it was the place were they spent most of their time together. 

At dinner Flash, as well as Maria had joined them, then ventured to the family room to watch television. And after cleaning the dishes the three adults opted to chatting in the HQ. Amy had fixed each of them a mug of hot chocolate with a single lick of cream.

Shadow stared into his mug at the steaming chocolate, watching the cream slowly melting away. He looked away when he heard Sonic's voice. Somehow Sonic had managed to make his voice squeak with an annoying twang and Shadow almost split his drink on himself.

Ah, and who wouldn't enjoy a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate split in their lap? Shadow glared dangerously, "What Sonic, _what_!?"

"Man," Sonic moaned with a hiss, "Why in the world does everyone plan on committing their crimes on a Friday!? You'd think criminals would want to take the day off! Playing hero is great, but just save me a holiday, or something."

Shadow smirked, "Well, that's what happens when you're a hero for an occupation."

Sonic sighed, rising to his feet, "Well, I'll be back in a sec. I gotta take care of a bank robbery."

Before he left, Sonic smiled and winked at Amy. In a flash of light, he darted away, zipping out of the backdoor.

The front doorbell rang as Shadow turned to face the door. Entering, where a pair of hedgehogs; Scythe and Daisy, "Honey, I'm home!"

Scythe was Eggman's second to last creation and one of the finest marks in science, as the doctor was able to create a being that was composed of both organic and robotic substances.

This allowed the dark hedgehog the mixed benefits of being both robotic and organic; with the robotic capabilities: Scythe was at least one hundred times stronger than the average male hedgehog, and was enabled heat vision, night vision.

He was also was created with an amazing, calculator-like brain that was capable of solving the most complex mathematic problems within seconds.

At the same time, through being a living, breathing creature, Scythe is capable of experiencing emotions, with his favorites being anger and contempt. Also, just like real beings, Scythe needed food and sleep.

Over time he adorned himself in a gray, more so silver blazer; although he claimed that silver was a girl's color. He always had a preference for Jordans, so he kept to the classic white and black edition.

His love of twelve years was a yellow, petite, brown-eyed hedgehog named Daisy. Unlike Scythe she had a conventional life; raised by a loving, wealthy family, grew up in a pristine well-to-do neighborhood, and attended a prestigious all girls school.

Her life only took a spiral from normality when one day as she was walking on the beach one cool Saturday morning just outside of her estate. She found, low and behold, Scythe washed up on a shore.

Then after that, it was history. The seemingly two opposite hedgehogs fell hard for each other. Although Daisy was constantly affectionate, as her bubbly personality allowed her to be, Scythe loved the yellow hedgehog twice as much as she loved him!

Whenever Daisy shared stories of how her gruff husband was loving and affectionate like a puppy, both Amy and Tikal laughed at her disbelievingly.

'_So he cooks for you whenever you ask, eh_?' Amy asked with a mischievous smile.

'_And you also claim that your husband graciously does the dishes_?' Tikal and Amy exchanged knowing smiles.

'_Yeah! Hey! I saw those smiles_!' then the yellow hedgehog sighed, '_Hmph! I know you don't believe me for a second. Well whatever, he's the sweetest guy around moi, and that's all that counts.'_

Over time, Daisy lost the cute appeal of a young school girl for the look of an attractive young lady; she dropped the white sweater and purple skirt for a newly loved purple dress.

Shadow looked up and after acknowledging his friends, he looked away, "…Rose hedgehog that's why we lock those doors, so people like _them_ don't come in here."

Scythe smiled wickedly, "You can kiss my--"

"Scythe!"

"…Shoe," Scythe finished lamely.

Daisy's glare softened remarkably as Scythe flashed her a silly grin, "That's better…I suppose…"

Scythe smirked, then looked at Shadow, "So how's life as a housewife, Shadow?"

"Hmph," Shadow rolled his eyes, "Just because I'm not out there on the streets fighting alongside you does not mean that I'm doing nothing."

It was known fact among his friends that after Rouge's death, Shadow had gone berserk. He went on a complete warpath and destroyed thousands of homes and several villages. He also split much blood that day. From that day on, Shadow had resigned himself to any type of violence.

However, a mundane lifestyle was still ludicrous; Shadow was recruited by an agency, where bounty hunters for hire. He was enlisted by a beefy alligator, a quiet chameleon, and a cheery bee. He worked alongside the other three detectives.

"Yeah!" Daisy piqued, "He's a good detective, so leave him alone!"

"Well, I guess. Now where's Sonic? He promised me that he'd beat me in some Super Smash bros. Not that I believe him for one second. I mean, he plays as freakin' Pikachu and I'm unbeatable with Samus. Samus 'the murderer' Aran."

His wife looked displeased, "...Did you just make up that nickname right now?"

"...No."

Amy shrugged, "Sorry, but he just left on a rescue mission."

"Well, tell him to come back from that rescue mission. He owes me a game of Smash bros!"

Scythe paused, then looked from Shadow to Amy, "…So, do any of you guys play?"

* * *

Unlike the previous rainy, wet days, this morning was beginning to unfold as a beautiful day. Overlooking the clear, crystal blue ocean was the floating Angel Island. The tropical paradise housed one of the most powerful sources of energy; the Master Emerald. And, it was even the emerald's power that kept the lovely island afloat. 

Today, young Maria decided to visit her other set of family friends: the echidnas. Their floating abode was miles and miles from any type of civilization, so she had to take a mile long boat cruise to get anywhere near the island. So while boat tugged peacefully, Maria looked at the scenery thoughtfully, watching the last traces of Station Square vanish.

Every time she or Shadow went to visit Angel Island, she always ended up wondering why the Echidnas couldn't have just decided to live in Station Square just like all her other Godparents had!

Then she wouldn't have to take a two-hour cruise to and back from the nearly void island. But the Echidnas were her family just like Hedgehogs; she had known them ever since she could remember.

Although her relationship with the Echidna family was strong, she wasn't as well acquainted with them as she was with her other Godparents; most of the time Knuckles and his wife Tikal were busy guarding the Master Emerald together.

Their son Sol was completely dedicated to his Guardian training; this meant that he had practically no outside social life; no Friday nights at movies, or going to arcades. When the young echidna set his mind to something, he did it to the best of his ability.

Maria watched happily as the ship's port came into view. And just when the ship came into dock, Maria ignored the conventional exit and made her own by jumping off of the ship and gliding into the harbor.

She landed lightly on her feet and ignored the curious glances received upon her landing. With a deep sigh, she readjusted her duffel bag and headed on her way.

* * *

-**To be continued!**


	2. Sol

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue_

By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

_---_

_"So," she said looking for an outlet to start a conversation; anything to talk about, "you speak echidna, huh?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Teach me a word! Teach me something dirty!"_

_Sol almost tripped over his own feet, "What!?"_

_Maria laughed, "Yeah, like something similar to 'up yours' or 'bite me.'" _

_Sol laughed before he looked away thoughtfully, "Hmm…I don't know whether or not I should be teaching you such things."_

_"Come on! When someone makes me mad, I'll be able to whip it out on them!"_

_Sol looked at her with what she believed to be a sideways glance, "…You better not tell mother…"_

**--- **

**-Epilogue- **

Climbing and scaling his way up jagged peaks, Sol, the guardian-in-training, made his way up the Red Mountain slowly. With careful, yet patient steps, Sol slowly trekked the mountain one step at a time.

The adolescent echidna was the son of none other than Knuckles and Tikal. He took heavily after his father, with bright crimson fur, long quills and even his quiet mild-mannered demeanor. But he had his mother's gorgeous, bright aqua eyes and her patience.

The boy was being apprenticed and trained as the guardian of the Master Emerald by both his father and mother. Tikal's practices usually honed in on mental strength, endurance and mastering patience, meanwhile Knuckles drills were physically vigorous with fighting, and focusing on improving speed.

The current drill he was performing was a dual effort between his two parents: Tikal saw scaling one of the largest mountains on Angel Island as proof of great mental strength and there was no doubt in Knuckles' mind that it took a great deal of mastery of physical strength to ascend the large chunk of red ridge.

Originally, he had started his task before dawn even rose and now at high noon, he was still ascending the mountain. The amount of aches and pain he felt was indescribable; it was as if every ounce of his body was doused with fire.

But he was used to dealing with pain, he could thank his father for helping him with that; in one of his guardian sessions Knuckles had him hold a skull-sized boulder over his head, while balancing on one leg from noon to sunset. That was a day for Sol that he wished to never think about again.

With another careful sweep of his hands, Sol grabbed onto another ledge and hoisted himself higher. He looked up and to his delight and relief, saw that he was nearing the top of the Red Mountain.

All the fatigue and aches in his muscles were forgotten briefly as a new adrenaline coursed through his system. He looked up again, with his aquamarine irises catching the sun's rays and took another step forward. The white glint of light distracted the guardian-to-be and he misplaced his left foot.

Sol impulsively let out a yelp as he felt himself slip. The profile of the echidna's face grazed the mountain side as he slipped downward. In reflex to the pain, he clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as he stuck a barbed fist into the mountainside. At the moment he felt his backslide stop, his teal eyes shot open.

There he hung thousands of miles from the ground, with only his left fist as a safeguard. And with that thought, Sol couldn't help but smile as he looked down at small specks of scenery below him. He hung, dangling in the wind for a few seconds more before he resumed his training and readjusted himself. In a matter of seconds he was at it again, taking it step by step.

He was only twenty steps away from his parents who were awaiting him at the top of the mountain. Tikal sighed slightly as she paced around, wringing her hands; she had been waiting for her son for what seemed like forever.

After her official marriage, Tikal had altered her apparel for a befitting, long gown that swept the ground and instead of wearing her quills to her shoulders as she had done as a bachelorette, she opted to curling her tawny quills into a single, yet regal-looking bun on the back of her head.

And in place of her old headband, a small fragment of the Master Emerald sat as the jewel in her tiara. Knuckles, with his only new attributes being a deep green robe and a few paint facial streaks under his eyes, stood no more than two feet away from Tikal, watching her pace around anxiously.

" Tikal…" the beige echidna jumped and turned to face him, "Calm down, you've been hobbling around here like you're hopped up on coffee beans."

"Do not tell me to calm down!" Tikal said, still pacing around furiously, "_You_ weren't the one who carried Sol in your stomach for nine months, and _you_ didn't feel him move inside of you, and _you_---"

Knuckles sighed, "Ti, he's fine, we trained him well; there's no way he could possibly fail…unless he totally takes a spill and bombs into the ground a thousand miles away."

Tikal stopped pacing and fixed Knuckles with an icy glare as he burst out laughing, "And _how_ is that something of humor!?"

"Didn't I tell you to calm down?" Knuckles smiled, "He's fine Titi! He'll be finishing any moment now."

Tikal dropped her offensive stance and sighed, "…You are correct, perhaps I am a bit anxious…but you have been spending far too much time with Sonic! Look how over-relaxed you are!"

"Yeah, hanging around Sonic does that, but…"

Knuckles took his wife by one of her slender arms and slowly wrapped her into a hug. She stood before him, peering at him thoughtfully. Smiling, the guardian lowered his head so that his nose was inches away from hers, "You know I won't let anything happen to our son, right?"

Tikal released a shuddering sigh, as she closed her eyes, "Yes, I trust you completely…with no shadows of doubt, but…"

She opened her eyes and looked to the rocky floor, "But I still worry for our son…"

"Hey now," Knuckles slid his palms to rest of her bare shoulders, "We've trained Sol well, he'll be a better guardian than both you and I put together."

Tikal sighed again as Knuckles rested his forehead against hers, "…I know…but, I hate it when this has to happen…the entire ceremony of selecting the new guardianship…"

Knuckles frowned slightly as he felt Tikal began to tremble against him, "…I hate selecting a new Guardian…That's when--that's when he--"

"Don't worry about it Tikal," Knuckles crooned softly, rubbing her back, "Don't even think about it, Sol will do fine; we'll be watching over him."

Tikal closed the hug between them and sighed softly into the guardian's shoulder. Just as she raised her head to gaze off into the distance, a red figure appeared at the edge of the sharp cliff. Tikal felt her heart leap into her throat as she cried out, "Sol!!"

The echidna princess tore from Knuckles' embrace to rush over to her son. She stopped a few inches from him as he slowly hauled himself to the top of the mountain. Vaguely, Tikal noticed Knuckles stooping beside her, "Come on Sol! You're almost there! I shall prepare a great feast for you once you have accomplished this!"

Knuckles watched silently as his grimacing son pulled himself up; something about the sight of seeing his sweating, striving son making his way up the last ledge made Knuckles burst with paternal pride. It set a bright, blaring, proud fire to his heart.

His son, his very own heir looked worthy to inherit the duties of the Master Emerald's guardianship. After his last heave, Sol flopped to the dusty ground with a loud sigh. Tikal rubbed his back and whispered appraisals to him meanwhile Knuckles walked in front of Sol. Once his shadow fell upon his son, Sol looked up, "Get up."

Sol looked into his father's deep eyes, which seemed to have taken a dark gleam. Tikal looked up at Knuckles incredulously, more than willing to curse out her husband in fluent echidna. But just as she opened her mouth, Sol began to slowly rise to his feet.

Tikal watched in awe as her son, although trembling, slowly rose to his full height. Gasping deeply, Sol brought himself to look into the eyes of his father, and in place of that dark, almost hostile gleam, were soft wine-hued eyes and a large smile.

"Congratulations Sol, you have passed your final apprentice trial. You have been deemed worthy and you shall face the three trials before the Master Emerald is under your guardianship: as the current guardian of the Master Emerald, I resign my duties for they are no more."

Sweat rolled down the newly appointed guardian's face, and although Sol was far too exhausted to speak, the expression upon his face said all that he felt: happiness, fear, uncertainty and excitement.

He looked at his mother, who was smiling radiantly, with tears present, then he looked at his father, who was smiling brightly as well, "As your teacher, you have done well, but as your father…"

Knuckles pulled his son into a strong embrace, "…You have made me proud."

Smiling, Tikal joined in the embrace and slowly, Sol returned both of their hugs. Although he had been taught multiple times that crying was shameful, this time he didn't care.

As his entire body ached and felt as if it could give way, Sol circled his arms around his parents and cried the longest and hardest he had in eight years. Finally he had done it, all his had sweat, blood and tears he had poured into his training was worth it. He was soon to be the next guardian. There was no one better to share his success with none of than his proud family.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set over Angel Island when Maria had arrived at the floating paradise. Without a shadow of a doubt, she decided upon taking the shortcut, and between the choice of journeying one day or a week, who wouldn't? Over the course of the day her family had called her, both blood and extended.

Amy had called her multiple times, checking in with how everything was going, Shadow called plenty as well, making sure that she was careful of everyone and anything around her.

Dads; they are always so protective of their little girls. Daisy and her daughter Sunny called, whenever they thought Maria would want company, and to then, to both her surprise and delight, Flash called.

Maria sighed; for some reason his voice sounded twice as nice as it usually did; his warm tenor tickled her ears as if he was standing beside her in person, whispering into her ear.

When she spoke with him, she felt as if she could envision him: kicked back on one of his sofas wearing one of his usual green hooded sweatshirts, and that dreamy, yet handsome smile present upon his face.

Maria sighed; damn that boy had good genes!

While she was envisioning his delightfully soft green eyes, and the perfect arc of his smile, Maria found her sweatshirt had snagged upon a tree, "Why I don't believe this sh--"

She struggled furiously for a couple of moments before she broke free. And as being as tired as she was, after a long day of traveling she proceeded to flip the tree off and continued on her way. Immature, yes but it certainly made her feel better.

Upon venturing a few minutes more, she breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized that she was near the Master Emerald's shrine. She recognized the island's signature emerald-green trees baring the exotic, multi-colored fruit.

She smirked, "Here I am."

A clear view of the deep blue ocean appeared alongside of the fuchsia, pinkish lovesick horizon. The sun was fading into a deep garnet, nearing the color of her father's eyes. Maria walked near the edge of the floating island and released a loud, yet cheerful whoop over into the sea. Her voice echoed twice before it faded out completely.

"Hello young Rouge Maria. To what pleasure do we owe this trip?"

Maria turned around to see Tikal earnestly, yet regally making her way towards her with a royal, practiced grace. Maria met the guardian half way with a true smile, "Hello aunt Tikal, how have things been on the island?"

"All is well my dear," after hugging Maria, Tikal pulled away and took one of Maria's bags, "Sol has passed all of his preliminary trials."

Maria raised both eyebrows, "Oh really? That's wonderful. So where's Sol now?"

"Oh, he's absolutely exhausted," Tikal laughed, "And why wouldn't he be? He had to climb the Red Mountains today."

Maria gawked, "Are you kidding me?"

"I joke you not."

"That sounds terrible! I just get tired from flying up those mountains!" Maria and Tikal both burst out laughing.

"Well both of you kids are exhausted; you both did a lot of work today. Look, there's our house."

Maria took her gaze from Tikal and peered forward. Before them was a small stone building draped with flowering vines. A small brook ran in front of their house, glinting and catching the reflections of the sky.

The Master Emerald Shrine sat about two hundred yards away, washed green from the glowing emerald. Along with the soft glow, a low hum was lulling from the emerald.

Maria smiled; taking in the beauty of the house made of lovely stones of different shapes and hues; although Tikal and Knuckles' home was in the middle of a wilderness, it still had a nice, comfortable 'home-sweet-home' air about it.

Tikal led the young girl to the house and opened the door, smiling as she called out, "Knuckles, our dear Maria is home!"

Maria entered in after Tikal to be greeted by the warmth of a burning fire in the stone fireplace and the wonderful scent of a roasting dinner. Sitting at one of the wooden chairs, Knuckles peered over and showcased his normal gruff smile, "Hey there stranger! What made you decide to venture out in these neck of the woods?"

Maria smiled, "Hey unc! Well when I heard that Sol was becoming a guardian, I couldn't miss it!"

Knuckles arched an eyebrow, "And how's old Shady doing? How old is he now, like one hundred or something? Is he getting around with the walker?"

Maria beamed dangerously, "You know, dad'll be here soon. Why don't you ask him that when he gets here?"

Tikal and Knuckles laughed, "Well anyways daughter, supper's ready. Why don't you find a few bowls and take them upstairs so you can eat with Sol? You can share his room at nights."

Maria smiled, "Okay! I'm so hungry right now! All they fed us on that stupid ship were crackers and rice…Who eats crackers and rice…together!?"

Tikal plucked a couple of wooden bowls and filled them with a rich, thick soup and a large hunk of seasoned roast. Maria felt her stomach gurgle as Tikal brought the soup and roast to her with spoons and forks, "Here you are daughter, enjoy your dinner. And feel free to return for seconds."

"Or thirds," Knuckles called from over his own steaming bowl.

"Huh?" Maria blinked at Knuckles' sudden outburst.

Beaming, Knuckles shoveled after mouthful of chunky soup into his mouth as Tikal turned to look at her, "We _all_ know that you have quite a large, healthy appetite, so feel free to eat as much as you like."

Maria looked down as her face bloomed with color, "…Ugh…Thank you auntie, I'll remember that."

Knuckles burst out laughing, "What's that bashful look for? It's not a bad thing that you like to eat! In fact it's quite the opposite in echidna culture!"

Laughing, Knuckles turned to his wife and called out playfully, "Hey Tikal, Shadow's daughter is modest, pretty, and a fine eater; let's marry her off to our son!!"

Tikal burst out laughing as Maria slowly, and uncharacteriscally left the room in a demure manner. She made her way upstairs and walked into a hallway. She kept straight and knocked on one of the wooden doors, "Come in."

It was definitely Sol; Maria slowly opened the door and entered cautiously. She found the young echidna lying on his simple bed with his eyes closed. He was laying face-up on top of his dark blue comforter and pillows.

Sol definitely looked as if he was recuperating from a vigorous day of training. _'Boy, did he get his ass kicked.'_ He slowly opened his eyes and gazed at Maria lazily, but he quickly jumped up when he realized who entered his room. The white bat smiled, "Hey Sol."

"Maria?" Although he sounded surprised, he still kept his composure, "When did you arrive here?"

"A few minutes ago, here, I brought dinner," Maria started over to him with the two bowls in hand.

Sol quickly rose to his feet as he hobbled over to Maria, hoping to help, but the girl took a few steps away from him, "Just sit down! I already heard about your adventures today with the Red Mountains. You don't have to help me one bit."

Reluctantly Sol took a seat and a bowl from Maria. She took a seat at his wooden desk and smiled at him as he started on his meal, "I suppose my parents told you everything?"

"Your your mom filled me in," Maria helped herself to a spoonful of food, "_Oh _can your mom cook! If I stay here too long, I'll get fat!"

Sol nodded solemnly, "Both her and father cook exceptionally."

Then he paused, "So why are you here?"

"Oh really now," Maria gave him a sly smile, "Like I'd miss you becoming a guardian? It's what you've devoted your entire life to!"

Sol looked at his bowl silently as Maria sat awkwardly in the quiet gap that wafted in their conversation. Saying that Sol was the quiet-type wasn't an insult, it was the truth. He was always serious in demeanor and he rarely laughed.

Cool, composed, and ultimately thoughtful; he had always been that way since Maria could remember. What seemed to amuse Maria was that although he and Flash were direct opposites, but they were best friends nevertheless. That was something that still puzzled her to this very day.

Maria coughed, then tried to remedy the uncomfortable silence, "So…um, are you completely a guardian now? Or is uncle Knuckles still the guardian?"

Sol looked up at her, "Not exactly. I finally completed my apprentice training and now that that's done…"

He closed his eyes, "…The real hard work beginnings…I have to complete the final trials. Supposedly there's going to be a lot riding on whether or not I successfully complete these three trials. They're called the ' Chosen's Trials'. Since father resigned as the most powerful guardian of the Master Emerald, technically, no one is the guardian right now."

Maria put down her half-empty bowl in her lap and leaned forward, enchanted by Sol's words, "So why doesn't your father just keep his power until the trial?

Sol shook his head, "No, he had to…it's hard to explain, but its tradition: the former guardian has to drop their power so that the new guardian can earn the power."

Maria nodded her head, " I kinda understand…But what actually happens during this trial?"

Sol continued, "Well, I hear that one of the ancient guardians is supposed to test me…I have no idea how but…Although mother and father won't tell me this personally, but I know that if I fail, something terrible will happen…Something they're both terribly afraid of."

Maria watched him earnestly as he bowed his head and his eyes were hidden in shadows, " Once, a couple of days ago at night, I heard mother crying, speaking in ancient echidna to father."

"Ah," Maria nodded her head, "Can't speak echidna, huh?"

Sol shook his head, "No…that's not the case at all…I speak it and understand it perfectly too."

"Oh…" Maria suddenly felt stupid.

"Mother only speaks echidna when she's really upset and I heard her telling father about how scared she was that I might fail, she was saying things like: 'What if Sol fails?' or 'What if he is killed?'"

Maria smiled, "But mothers always worry, heck, even auntie Amy worries about me! And she's my aunt! And you've completed your training, your parents both know that you'll do them proud."

Sol fell silent and resumed eating his meal, Maria smiled slightly and continued eating, noticing that the stone-faced Sol looked slightly happier than he did a couple of minutes ago. Maria finished her bowl and placed it on the desk happily with a content sigh. Sol turned to look at her, "…Done already?"

Maria laughed meekly, "Yeah, it was so delicious! And your mom's an awesome chief! …And I eat like a horse!!"

As Maria laughed, she thought she saw the slightest trace of a smile on his face, then just to test the boundaries, she made another remark, "…And if you're wondering, I would kick your butt in a food-eating contest!"

Then she burst out into a full out laughter, and when she looked over at Sol…he was smiling! Well, smirking…but it was definitely a start. Happily, Sol watched her maneuver around the room deciding where to place her stuff.

He was acute enough to find a reason to leave the room when he noticed she plucked her pajamas from her bag. And rising from his bed as smooth as silk, he hobbled over to collect their bowls, "I'll return these downstairs."

"Suit yourself, Sol."

After he hobbled downstairs finding his parents curled together near the dying fire, he returned upstairs to his room. But while en route, he could hear an off-tune, singing Maria gurgling in the bathroom. Sol blinked, then for the first time in awhile, burst out laughing.

* * *

Maria slept in the makeshift bed of sheets and quilts for the night. Sol was across the room from her quiescent in a dreamless sleep. However, as Maria slept, a dream began to unravel before her.

---

_A dream, one that unfurled with no beginning or end took Maria's subconscious that night. The dreamed pillowed out before her effortlessly, and soon she found herself watching three echidnas. _

_The first was an old, plump maroon-hued echidna festooned in decorative dress. He had soft aquamarine eyes that the young bat had somehow felt that she recognized. And standing before him was another male echidna, this one who was much younger and was a bright crimson to his maroon. _

_The third echidna was a tan female, dressed in a knee-length white and green skirt. Her eyes mirrored the same aqua sheen as the older maroon echidna's. This girl, Rouge Maria thought vaguely, looked very akin to her 'aunt' Tikal.. _

_He turned, and although he spoke in a different tongue, it was as if Maria was able to understand the foreign tongue, "Today is a very important day, for I want to introduce you to your betrothed." _

_The young echidna and the Tikal-look-alike turned and faced each other and smiled. One didn't have to know the young couple to see the strong stir of emotions between them. It was all evident in their actions: the twinkling eyes, the delighted smiles, and the gleeful giggles. However, the maroon echidna didn't seem too pleased; he looked away from the young echidnas before he spoke, "…I want you to meet your husband…" _

_The tan echidna smiled happily and took the crimson echidna's hand excitedly, "Finally, Valor, we shall be wed!" _

_She looked from the beaming male to the elder anxiously, awaiting his next words eagerly. _

_"…Turrok…" _

_The Tikal look-alike and the now known Valor's faces dropped in horror. Their smiles disappeared completely as a pale orange echidna stepped impeccably out of the shadows. At first his face was perfectly blank, void of any emotion to the point he appeared unnerving, but when he set his eyes upon the girl, a slow, sweeping smile stole his face and his eyes seemed to glint eerily. _

_Valor stepped back in shock, and in dejection as the girl trembled in wordless terror. Soon, the growing fear swallowed her completely and she fainted, dropping sweetly into oblivion as the dream ended… _

_--- _

The slamming of a door roused Maria from sleep. She popped up ungracefully, having a comical case of bed-head at its best with her hair going two separate directions, "Guh?"

Her hazy purple eyes detected Sol within sight of her. Draped over one of his shoulders was a long rust-colored towel. Maria had always thought of him as a silent ,mild-mannered mysterious character, but the light of from the hallway added a deep shadow to half of his face, somehow making him appear more solemn .

The echidna slowly turned his light eyes upon her, "…Forgive me. Next time I'll close the door lighter."

Maria rubbed her eyes and ignored her scratchy, sleepy voice, which sounded as terrible as a malfunctioning blender, "Oh, that's okay. But what time is it?"

Sol's expression remained stationary, "Although we don't keep clocks on the Island, I'd guess it was a few hours after mid noon…"

"Noon!? Why son of a--" Maria scrambled out bed, and ended up thumping painful on the floor, "Why didn't you wake me up when you got up!?"

"Because I woke up before Dawn."

Maria paused in her frantic maneuvering momentarily, "…Oh…good point."

A light knock on the door bought Sol and Maria's attention. As the door creaked open slowly, Tikal stuck her head in, "Sol—oh, I see that dearest Maria is finally awake now. Why don't you two go and find some fresh fruit for brunch? Knuckles is at the creek fishing, and if you bring back fruit, I promise to make the most delicious pies you've ever tasted. Just imagine broiled rainbow trout for dinner, and a side of fruit pie; wouldn't that be lovely?"

Sol and Maria looked at each other and apparently the feeling was mutual; they were both up for having delicious pies made for them. Maria turned to face Tikal and smiled, "Sure thing, auntie."

Tikal smiled at them one last time before she disappeared. Sol turned to look at Maria, "If we're going to leave, then we better leave now. It'll take practically all day to reach the fruit gardens from here."

"Okay."

Maria scuffled around in her duffel bag and pulled out a matching white velvet sweat suit. It had been one of her favorite outfits ever since the Christmas Sonic and Amy had given it to her for a gift.

She smiled at Sol as she turned and left, heading to the bathroom. Once she entered the bathroom, furnished in a manner that was simple but somehow elegant in its wooden design, she showered and dressed quickly.

As soon as Maria finished pulling the soft, white hooded top over her head, she turned to stare at her reflection. She watched as her mirror-image rested her head in her palm.

She stared back blankly at her clone behind the mirror, allowing her thoughts to travel elsewhere. She found that her daydreaming had led her back to the dream she had earlier, the really weird one that involved the echidnas.

"Hmm," Maria thought out-loud, "What a trippy dream…I wonder where all of it came from…"

* * *

Walking up the steep hills, Sol turned to look back at Maria. She had fallen a few steps behind him. His cool blue eyes focused her on, "…Am I going too fast?"

His words weren't meant to be challenging, he was just stating a simple question. But nevertheless his rigidity seemed to create a nonsocial barrier between them. Maria hiked up the hill wheezing, "No, no of course not. I'm a volleyball player, so I should be able to keep up with you."

When Maria caught stride with him, he finally began to walk again. Pacing himself a tad bit slower to match her amble. As they were walking, Maria grazed one of Sol's shoulders.

The slight warmth between them disappeared when Sol moved farther away from her, trying to preserve the invisible boundary line between them. Noticing this, Maria frowned but said nothing.

She shifted her basket to her left hand, as she was a lefty like her dad, "So are we getting anywhere near this place with all the best fruit I'll ever taste? You know that's what your dad said."

Maria smiled as she dropped her voice a few octaves to mock Knuckles'tenor, " 'Here on Angel Island you'll taste the best fruit. The stuff you guys eat in the city tastes like rocks compared to our fruit. Your junk has so many hormones in it you'll probably grow a second head!'"

Sol blinked, staring straight ahead, "I suppose."

"So how good are aunt Tikal's fruit pies?"

"They're good."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Inwardly Maria sighed; trying to get Sol to talk was pointless. He was one of the most stolid, poker-faced people she had ever known. And dangit she knew serious people! Her dad was Shadow the hedgehog and even at times he smiled, or at least smirked.

Maybe, at times he'd smile or laugh at the expense of other people, but that still counted of something. Then a thought popped into Maria's head, a few words Flash had said about Sol, '_He's one of the stiffest, most serious people I've ever met. I mean he's so rigid that you could iron a shirt on him!_'

Maria suddenly giggled, and finally Sol looked at her with his normal, level stare, "What is it?"

"Oh it's nothing," Maria tittered again, "I just thought of something Flash said a little ways ago."

Sol said nothing as he turned to look forward again. At the sight of his faraway stare, Maria fell silent as discomfort seeped in. Just what was up with that guy anyhow?

The silence between them made the walk that much more of a toll. Time seemed to slow painfully to a crawl. And with time drawling on slowly, Maria realized they had ventured a long ways when Sol finally pointed out that they had made it to their destination, "Here we are, the fruit yards."

Maria followed his pointing finger and gasped. Indeed as Sol had claimed, they stood before a wild, untamed flock of free-growing planets that had gorges of strawberries, bundles of bananas, oranges, and vine after vine of grapes in shades ranging from deep indigo to bright crimson.

Maria stood in complete awe, "Wow! This is so beautiful! I've never seen so many different varieties of fruit! You've got bananas, apples, pears, peaches, lemons…everything right here!"

Maria slowly trounced into the garden, taking in everything with great pleasure. She slowly made her way from tree to tree and vine to vine sampling every kind of fruit possible.

Sol noticed that when she tried a fruit that made her instinctively cry out, "Yum!" or "Ooh, this is so good!" She put it in her basket. Just as Sol was shoveling pineapples into his own basket, Maria called out to him, "Sol, what kind of fruit is this?"

Sol turned and saw that Maria was pointing to a twisted, gnarly tree that held dangling deep red fruit, "This one."

The future guardian strolled up next to her as she plucked the fruit, "It's called a pomegranate."

Maria eyed the fruit, then sank her sharp fangs into the base of the fruit, only to revolt and pull it away in disgust, "Yuck! This thing tastes terrible!"

The corners of Sol's mouth twitched, but even though he didn't quite break a smile, Maria saw the amusement in his eyes, "No, you're eating it wrong."

He gently took the pomegranate from the girl, careful as not to touch her hand in the process, and began peeling away the skin. Maria watched him work in curiosity and leaned in closer to him.

Sol removed one of his hands to show her the inside of the fruit, which were filled with millions of tiny ruby-red shiny seeds. Maria thought that the seeds looked like tiny rows of teeth.

"See," Sol looked over at her, "You're supposed to chew these seeds until you eat away its juicy center."

"Ohhhhhh," Maria nodded her head in understanding.

Like Sol, she plucked away a couple of seeds, then popped them into her mouth. She furrowed her brows as she chewed, but then smiled when the flavor exploded in her mouth, "Wow! These are good!"

"And now, you spit them out," Sol did so in one clear shot, and Maria followed his lead, only she spat out the seeds as if she was a machine gun.

This time Sol couldn't prevent himself from laughing and burst out into a loud, happy laughter. Maria smiled, revealing that some of her teeth were still covered with seeds and Sol howled even louder. Maria spit out the rest of the seeds and beamed. This time, Shadow's daughter felt that it was her turn to treat him to a sweet fruit.

She looked around and found a vine of strawberries and with a nimble pluck, she scooped up one bright, heart-shaped fruit and turned to face him, "Here, try this. I think these strawberries are killer."

At first Sol waited for her to give him the fruit, but when he realized that she was going to feed him manually, with a little hesitance, the guardian lowered his head and went forward. Maria smiled as she watched Sol close his eyes and began to sample the strawberry.

Sol licked the strawberry and slowly devoured the tiny heart-shaped fruit as if he savored every ounce of it. The image of the guardian before her somehow made Maria blush and she stared back at him demurely. She burst into a flare of color when she felt a part of his mouth touch her fingers. An odd spark of electricity jolted through her and she gasped.

She stepped away from him then blinked, realizing that he had eaten the thing completely, leaves and all. Sol rose and opened his eyes, "You're right Maria that was quite delicious. I'll go get more for mother. She loves strawberries." Maria watched his retreating figure earnestly, for some reason wishing to be walking by his side, "Hey!"

Sol stopped and turned to face her with his normal gaze that was both cool and patient, "Yes?"

She ran over to him until she was right beside him, "Let's pick strawberries together. And we can eat some too."

Maria smiled at him as Sol nodded his head; they both resumed their pace and headed back to another vine of red strawberries.

"Would you like to try some Papaya, Maria?"

"Sure, I'd love to sample everything here."

* * *

By the time they had a full basket of fresh fruit, the sky was just beginning to glow with a golden color. Maria hummed happily as the two of them made their way back to the stone house where Knuckles and Tikal awaited them.

Somehow, Maria had gotten Sol to loosen up slightly, not quite as much as she would have liked, but it was a vast improvement from earlier in the day.

"…And so then he slapped the worm in his face!"

Maria burst out laughing as Sol's face curled in a fixture of disgust, "…That's pretty nasty."

"I know, but it was so hilarious!" Maria cried, "So yeah, that was two years ago when we were dissecting worms. Flashy was my lab partner."

"We should get firewood."

Maria looked up at him with a smile, "Well that was abrupt! But yeah, ooh, which tree should we get it from?"

Sol peered around before he pointed to a withering tree, "That one, it's been sick for a while, and is well on its way to dying."

Maria stalked over to the tree and looked at it and she turned to look at Sol, "This old thing?"

"Yes, that 'old thing'."

"Fine then," Maria smiled, "One order of firewood coming up."

Sol turned to face her blankly as Maria clenched her fists as she began to levitate, feeling a surge of power as a fuchsia aura surrounded her. Her smile, once semisweet, turned shark-like as her eyes began to glow fuchsia, "Chaos Blast!"

A wave of fuchsia energy made the tree collapse like a frail toothpick and the tree burst into different sized scraps. Maria waited until the end of the raining lumber and gathered the wood, humming merrily.

Maria spun around with her pile to almost be face to face with Sol, "Whoa! Don't do that Sol! You scared the living hell outta me!"

He left his hands open and Maria gave him the lumber. After gathering the most wood he could manage, Sol and Maria began to head back. Maria looked over at him and smiled, "I bet you were shocked that I could muster up that kind of Chaotic energy, huh!?"

"Are you talking about that Chaos Blast?"

"Yeah," Maria looked at him smugly, "My dad taught me to do that! Bet you're jealous, huh?"

But Sol missed the joke, "Why would I be jealous of that? I have my own Chaotic energy signature and can do something similar to that…."

"Sol!!" Maria cried, "Will you just loosen up a bit! That was a joke! Sheesh! It's like you're made of stone or something. Can't you smile or something? Act a like more like Fla --oh nevermind!"

Sol's eyes suddenly iced, and he turned to look at her with a sweeping, arctic gaze, one that was both stolid and seething; she had struck a cord with him, "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Just say it," Sol's voice flat-lined.

"What?" the metallic quality to Sol's voice suddenly stopped her.

"Say what you're really thinking…like how you probably think I'm pretty odd."

"Huh?" Maria turned to face Sol.

Instead of his normal, cool façade, Sol looked rather mad. The future guardian looked much unlike himself at the moment as ounces of emotion were poured into his stance; squared shoulders, eyes narrowed, and fists clenched.

It was the thought of seeing the normally composed Sol this way that made Maria feel alarmed; this was one of the few times she could recall him showing any true sense of emotion. Vaguely Maria noticed that he had dropped all the logs, and the basket lay at his feet, luckily its contents didn't spill out.

"Odd," Sol raised his gaze to meet Maria's curious stare; it didn't help any that his turquoise eyes were icy, "Compared to someone like Flash."

"Oh come off it Sol, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say--"

" I know I'm not him, as charismatic and as charming as he is. I know I'm boring, and have no life outside of the Master Emerald's dominion. I'm not a star football player that everyone idolizes and loves, and I certainly don't know what words to say to make people laugh the way he does."

Sol took a step toward her and instinctively, Maria veered backwards, "So after being with him, you must be completely bored out of your mind being with me now…And I know you're thinking that, because I would be too if I was in your place…"

Suddenly, Sol trailed off and his expression went void, as if he had suddenly realized that he had said far too much. He let his arms drop as he fell silent. What Maria had just seen was a true anger at himself, completely unscripted and off the handle.

Maria gazed up at him sadly as he looked off into the sea impassively. Maria slowly turned her line of vision from him, "…Do you really think that, Sol?"

The guardian didn't reply, and Maria pressed forward, "I'd never dream of trying to make you into someone you're not. I like you just the way you are. I haven't thought a second about him while I've been talking to you."

Maria smiled at him, then frowned when she noticed Sol hadn't had even glanced at her once. Her cute little speech to make him feel better was useless. Maria scratched her head; there had to be something she could think of to make him feel better.

Sol was feeling bad about himself, so what was something she sucked at? Isn't that what people did to make a friend of theirs feel better when they were sad? Berated themselves?

"…Flying"

"What?" Sol turned to look at her.

Ding! Ding! Ding! She had finally captured Sol's attention. Now was her time to make her move, "Oh…well, this is gonna sound kinda stupid, but I suck something awful at flying."

"You're a bat," Sol replied matter-of-factly, and with a slight scoff, "How can you 'suck' at flying?"

"Well, for one thing try having a _hedgehog _try teaching you how to fly," Maria smiled at Sol, "What, don't give me that look! It's true! Dad had to try to teach me how to fly. And that was probably one of the hardest things in the world for me. Sometimes I wish I had mother around…then I wouldn't be so terrible at flying."

"What are you talking about?" Sol asked, "You fly fine."

"Oh yeah right," Maria replied with half a laugh, "I fly terribly. Sol, _kindergarteners_ fly better than I do. If mom was around, then I know I'd be such a better flyer. But explain this to me: what kind of bat can't fly well?"

"Maria, it's not even a big deal--"

"Big deal!? Sol, the other kids teased me in school because I flew like a drunk, one-eyed vulture! And if you think you have such problems, then that's nothing. Try being a bat, raised by a hedgehog. "

"What does that mean?"

"It's confusing!"

Unscripted, Maria began to roll, "It seemed like I always got these weird glances whenever dad and I went somewhere because why in the hell would a little bat be following a hedgehog around!? No one seemed to believe I was his daughter. And teaching me how to fly was hell."

Maria shook her head, "You know, I don't know _if _I even qualify as a bat and I certainly as hell know that I'm not a hedgehog, if I was, then people wouldn't come up to dad and ask, 'Do you know a little girl is following you'?"

"Why would they ask that?" Sol asked softly, gauging her intently.

Maria threw her hands in the air, "Because he's a hedgehog and I'm a bat! I look nothing like I should! I'd give everything to be a hedgehog like him and actually be his daughter--"

Sol stopped her, "Maria stop it. It's an honor to take after your mother and be such a belle. If anything you're lucky to have her flattering features."

Maria looked at the floor and flushed; both from the compliments and the embarrassment that she too had leaked hidden thoughts.

She looked up into his clear, turquoise eyes, "Shadow thinks no less of you because you don't look like him. If anything, he finds you more precious because you look just like his late wife."

"…Still…"

"'Still' what? Don't let me hear you saying those kinds of things again, Maria," Sol replied, "Not even I believed that you were that dense to believe that kind of nonsense."

Maria glanced up sharply; if she hadn't had known better, she'd think the stolid, uptight guardian had just made a joke!

Her eyes settled on his bright red form and she was met with a blaring smile. So not only was Sol making jokes today, but he was smiling. Vaguely, Maria noticed how much more striking he was with that smile.

"Hey!" Maria struck him playfully in the shoulder, " So now you think you're all high and mighty now because you're gonna be the new guardian of the Master Emerald!?"

Sol burst out laughing as he continued to block against Maria's punches, "Hey, take it easy. I didn't know you were this wound-up. Let's get these fruits to mother while they're fresh."

They began to walk again with a congenial air back between them again. Maria smiled and looked over to Sol.

"So," she said looking for an outlet to start a conversation; anything to talk about, "you speak echidna, huh?"

"Yep."

"Teach me a word! Teach me something dirty!"

Sol almost tripped over his own feet, "What!?"

Maria laughed, "Yeah, like something similar to 'up yours' or 'bite me.'"

Sol laughed before he looked away thoughtfully, "Hmm…I don't know whether or not I should be teaching you such things."

"Come on! When someone makes me mad, I'll be able to whip it out on them!"

Sol looked at her with what she believed to be a sideways glance, "…You better not tell mother…"

Maria zipped her lips and smiled at him. Sol gazed at the sky thoughtfully again and Maria smiled.

She thought Sol's pondering expression was adorable, but of course she wouldn't tell him that. He looked back at her, "_Punthalia_."

"Punthalia?" Maria had the accent all wrong.

Sol repeated it slowly, "Poon-tal-yuh."

This time Maria nailed it, "_Punthalia._"

"There you go, now just don't say that anywhere near my parents, or I won't live to become a guardian."

Maria smiled, "_Punthalia_. That word sounds too pretty to be a swear word." Sol laughed, "So how did you hear that word anyways, there's only two other people in this world who know those words."

Sol raised both eyebrows, "Well, I heard mother say it once when she burned her finger. I guess she was talking to the stove. And father says it any time something breaks and he has to fix it."

Maria looked away from him and smiled. Although she noticed that now as they walked closer, her heart was thumping against her chest and a new sensation stirred from within her. Smiling, she glanced at Sol one last time before stepping another inch closer to him.

Sol noticed as they walked, their shoulders were grazing, but this time he didn't seem to mind. In fact it was kind of nice; their closeness brought both warmth and the scent of Maria's strawberry shampoo. By the time they reached the house, not an inch was between them.

* * *

"…Wake up Maria…"

Slowly, amethyst eyes fluttered open, "Hmm?"

The image of a red echidna slowly came into focus. His blue-green eyes were focused on her gently and his quills dangled above her head, "Wake up."

She glanced back up at him with sleepy eyes, "Why?"

Sol smiled, "Because, it's dawn."

Maria yawned and rolled over, as she did so she pulled the blankets above her head and turned her back to him, "…Go away, I don't wake up until ten."

Sol frowned slightly and he began to nudge her, "Maria wake up, I have to show you something."

Maria only curled up tighter, "Get lost."

A glint of mischief sparked inside the echidna, he smirked, "So be it then Maria. I asked nicely."

With lightning fast reflexes, he snatched the covers away from Maria, who ended up spinning out of her comfy cocoon. Maria yelped as she tumbled and ended up on her stomach.

She blinked stupidly as she felt her head spin. Confusion was replaced by disbelief and anger when she heard Sol laughing. Mister serious had the nerve of all times to be laughing at her!

There was no way Maria's ego would let such a crime go unpunished, "You're dead you big jerk!"

Maria suddenly pounced at him with cat-like agility and had Sol not been paying attention, he would have been on the receiving end of her lion-like leap. Maria landed in another thump as she crash landed yet again on her stomach and roused Sol into another fit of laughter.

This time Maria opted to chase Sol, who tore through his house like a madman. Maria blinked and stared after him. She didn't expect the echidna to react so jubilantly. After blinking for a few seconds, she yelled then chased after him.

Knuckles and Tikal were downstairs, just barely beginning their day. Knuckles, while yawning, had just began to boil a pot of cinnamon coffee. He rested his arm on the counter and held his face within his palm. The guardian was battling sleep as his eyelids were slowly beginning to drop.

The echidna princess was present in the downstairs bathroom. Tikal was busy burying her face in the mirror, looking at her reflection. She played with her quills trying to find the look that best suited her. She first balled them into a bun on the top of her head, then dropped them to hang naturally.

As Knuckles found himself being lulled to sleep, loud thumps roused him awake. Knuckles spluttered as Sol charged past him, laughing, looking over his shoulder, "Hi father, bye father."

Knuckles stared after him inquiringly; only to have a second person zoom passed him. He jumped again, but this time, the person was too busy chasing to notice him, "Get back here and take your punishment like a man!"

Maria slammed the door shut immediately. Knuckles stared after them as Tikal finally came out of the bathroom. She was adorned in a silvery blue nightgown and looked at Knuckles, "….What, pray tell, was that my love? It sounded as if a stampede of elephants just scampered through our home."

Knuckles chuckled and turned back to face his wife, "It's finally happening. Remember when I told you Tikal that someday the girls would be chasing our son?"

---

Maria came to a stop when she finally lost all her wind and finally found Sol beaming at her. Was he stupid? He had just allowed her to corner him. She took the time to confront him and to catch her breath as well. "Aha! I found you now Sol!"

She pointed an accusing finger at him as she continued to approach him. Sol just continued to smile at her. "Why when I'm done with you, you'll---"

Maria's eyes widened as she dropped her hand to her sides. Sol had led Maria to a cliff overlooking the ocean; there a beautiful sunrise was beginning to unfold. The sky was set afire in bright flare of crimson, fuchsia, rose, and gold all entwined.

The fluffy, violet clouds were outlined in a gold ribbon of light. The ocean itself was a dark shade of magenta, mirroring the lovely sky above. Maria seemed to have forgotten about the beating she owed to Sol as she took in the blushing horizon.

"Wow," Maria whispered in awe, "Sol, this is truly beautiful. And I usually think nothing of sunsets."

Sol looked away from her and smiled, "…I know."

She stared at the sunset for a few seconds longer before she turned back to Sol. His fur was a dark burgundy in the breaking light and his eyes were a deep blue. Like the ocean on a sunny day.

He looked off into the sea peacefully as his long quills swayed in the soft wind. Although he wasn't smiling, somehow Maria could still read that he was content, at peace. Almost by instinct, Maria found herself drawn to him.

Slowly, as if in a trance, she walked over to him and stopped. Sol's dark eyes looked at her curiously. But before she could speak a word, her actions said all. Maria found herself standing beside him and impulsively, leaned against his strong frame.

She curled her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder. This time, Sol didn't wince or jerk away from her sudden touch. He melted into it and moved closer to her. He didn't even realize that when she took his hand, he buried it within his securely.

"Hey Sol?"

"Yes?"

"Don't think you're off the hook quite yet. I'm still going to get you back."

"...Oh..."

* * *

**-To be continued! **

**(-Next time around, our favorite black 'n' red anti hero and the blue wonder step into action. Can they survive their journey to Angel Island with each other!? Or will Amy have to step in, take names, and play the role as the pink punisher? Read and Review and stay tuned!) **


	3. Shadow

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:**

Epilogue

By: _UlTrAa ShAdDow_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Man, I wanted to update on V-day but I was pretty busy all day and all night. (_Clean thoughts people XD_) But yep, here's the latest, pine-fresh installment of ze epilogue! Read, review and ultimately enjoy!

-_Shadow noticed that the black and white badger was wearing a red vest that looked almost comically too small for him. And on the crimson vest was a nametag that read, 'Hi! I'm Joel! How can I help you today?'_

_"Do you have a staring problem or something pal?" the badger asked, bending over so he was a few inches above Shadow's head, "Or do you think I'm just damn sexy?"_

**-Epilogue- **

It was only a day after Maria's departure that Shadow, being accompanied by the likes of Sonic, Amy, Scythe and Daisy, headed for Angel Island. The group of friends went to well-wish Sol on his quest to becoming a guardian.

Expressly, Shadow wasn't too fond of the sea or water in general but today, sailing was somehow tolerable. With his back against the rail and arms folded across his chest, he gazed over his shoulder at the side-scrolling landscape.

He noticed how patches of the sea were set in glowing rivulets, reflecting the sun's powerful ray beams. And as much as he would hate to admit it, he was rather happy to be onboard the very ship he was on traveling across the big blue.

While the ship swayed and rocked rhythmically, Amy approached him looking more than ready to start a conversation, "Hey there stranger! Enjoying the boat ride?"

Somehow over the years, beside Sonic, Amy had become one of Shadow's most trusted allies. Possibly because she had acted in place of Maria's absent mother and nurtured the girl as if she was her own daughter. Shadow was hesitant to throw around the word 'friend' but he had no objections with classifying Amy as one of his dearest companions.

"It's all right I suppose," Shadow replied with a shrug, "Why do you ask?"

"Because," Amy grinned deviously, "Sonic's terribly seasick and won't admit it."

Shadow sighed, as if he knew better, "…Of course, how very typical of faker."

"Bite me."

Both Shadow and Amy turned to see a groggy-looking Sonic wobbling over towards them. Sonic grabbed onto the rail and glowered at both of them. Shadow and Amy burst out laughing.

Shadow especially took this sight to heart, "What's wrong Sonic? Aww, are you feeling a little ill? Do you want something to make your tummy feel better? Want a hug, ya widdle faker?"

"…Oh wait Shadow, I got this for ya, 'see my finger, see my thumb, see my peace sign minus one,'" with a smile Sonic flipped him off, "How about that one?"

"Sonic," Shadow replied, "Put that away before someone gets hurt."

"Like who, 'jo mama?"

"…Uncle Shadow?"

Shadow, as well as the other two hedgehogs turned around to see a small hedgehog approaching. Shadow quickly identified the girl as Scythe and Daisy's daughter, Sunny. The girl making her way over to them was a yellow hedgehog with sharp silver eyes, on account of Scythe.

She seemed to have inherited more of her father's personality as she was more so quiet and reserved and had a satirical outlook on life. To match her brusque attitude, she wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt, striped tights, black shorts and oversized black boots. She was just a rebel to the max. And although she was only twelve years of age, Sunny acted as much more mature-minded than most children her age.

"What's up Sunshine?"

She stopped a couple of inches before him, "…I just wanted to get away from mom and dad, they're arguing again."

Almost perfectly timed, Scythe's voice flared up over all the other commotion on the ship, "I swear, it was the vanilla ice cream!!"

The girl averted her gaze, looking unimpressed, "…Is that normal?"

Amy smiled, "For them it is. That's how they show their affection for each other."

Then Daisy's voice screeched, "And that's why you drove a tractor through the house!?"

Sunny gazed over the ocean, "It's certainly a weird way to show it…"

"Well," Shadow replied, "Have you noticed that your parents aren't normal? They're weirdoes, almost as strange as Sonic."

Sunny cracked a small smile and Sonic looked up and glared at him, "And _this_ is coming from a guy born in a test tube?"

The ship's loud whistle pierced the air and a herd of passengers flocked the deck, hoping to see land. Slowly coming into sight were the vague outlines of green hills and mountains.

As the swarm of travelers flooded the deck, Shadow frowned as he found himself suddenly packed tightly in a horde of strangers. He frowned instinctively and tried to battle his way out.

Once he finally broke free, he found Amy, Sonic and Sunny in a little space of their own pointing and gazing at the approaching land. Shadow advanced toward them, slightly miffed that they didn't get to experience being squeezed in the crowd, "Why was _I_ the only one stuck between a horde of strangers!?"

Sonic smiled and shrugged, " I dunno, maybe you're so charming everyone wanted a piece of ya."

"Charming?" Shadow scoffed, then he looked at Sunny, "Do you think I'm charming Sunny?"

Sunny suddenly looked away, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly; she was saved by Amy's inquiry, "Uh, Sonic, Shadow, I just thought of something. How are we going to get to Angel Island? We're not going to walk there are we? Or that'll take all day."

Shadow smirked, "No, I have other plans. I have a friend that owes a favor. Trust me, she's got it covered."

One of the ship's crewmates came from one of the main cabins and yelled, "Land ho! We now approach La Isla; se llama La Playa Blanca."

They all turned out toward the sea to gaze at the approaching horizon. Sonic leaned over the rail slightly and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, " Well Angel Island, here we come."

* * *

"Left…Okay now a little to the right...wait, more to the right…now left a little…"

Julie Robotnik was currently deciding where to place one of her large framed photographs. She stood in the Sahara Dessert base in a very remote part of the golden African desert.

Although Eggman's offspring spent most of her time in her laboratory, with the times she did travel, she had developed a nice golden, honey tan in place of her creamy complexion. And her bright orange hair had conformed to a shade of fiery copper.

Eighteen years ago, when Julie had first moved into the deserted base, she had been nothing more than a young, bright-eyed energetic upcoming scientist ready to take the world by storm.

Now she was an accomplished, world renowned scientist. She also was the sole owner of the largest electronic corporation of the world; Robotnik Corp. Somehow, the girl was able to make something out of herself regardless of the fact that her father had never been present in her life, and that her mother had been nothing more than an exotic dancer.

Even as a famous scientist with multiple adoring followers, worshipping her for both her brilliance and her flawless looks, Julie usually stayed in the company of her created companion, Ceres, and her most trusted friend, Shadow.

Multiple times, Shadow had suggested that Julie should look for a soul mate but the Robontik girl laughed at the idea and claimed to be too independent to marry. She also claimed that she couldn't find any males intellectual enough to hold a decent conversation with her.

"_So is talking to me dumbing you down_?" Shadow replied.

"_Not in the least bit. You know, it's too bad you weren't a human Shadow, then I might just marry you_," the human woman burst out laughing as Shadow scrunched up his face in a playful gesture of disgust.

_"…I would have passed_," Shadow had replied.

Julie watched as her first and favorite creation, Ceres, a small white hedgehog with large blue eyes moved a portrait on the wall. The white hedgehog looked to be no older than eight years of age and as Julie's lab assistant, the Robotnik girl thought it would be just precious to dress the girl in a black French maid outfit.

So Ceres wore the complete outfit; dress, hat and all. The small hedgehog turned to look at her creator and in her high babyish voice asked, "Is this good?"

Julie stared hard at the picture and craned her neck to look at the picture at almost every angle. Finally she came to her decision, "Naw, put it back to the way it was before."

Indisputably Ceres began to move the picture back to its origin. She heard a disgruntled sigh from her creator, "What's the matter?"

"It's you!!" Julie cried, " Freakin' get mad or something! Tell me to shove off for making you do all this work!"

"Why, that would be mean!" Ceres reasoned and Julie sighed. The hedgehog blinked at Julie, then turned her head, "Oh! Look at that dusty table! It's time to cleanup."

Ceres hopped off of the ladder and strolled over to the table Julie was leaned against. The half robotic hedgehog turned one of her hands into a duster and began to mop away the grime.

Julie watched blankly and purposely knocked a vase onto the floor. In response, Ceres gasped and ran over to clean up the mess. Ceres only paused in her work when she heard Julie groan, "What is it?"

"Dammit Ceres! How did I manage to make such a sugary, sweet girl?"

Julie bent down so she could grab Ceres by her shoulders and shake her, "Don't you get it!? I'm trying to make your life a living hell! Curse me out! C'mon, you can do it! Say something dirty: damn, shit, hell ….Call me a fatass--"

The telephone rang and Ceres walked right out of Julie's 'session', "I'll get it!"

This time, Julie screamed in frustration and pulled on her hair, "How did someone like me end up with a girl like her? When I made her I wasn't trying to make an angelic…slave, who follows my every order…gosh, karma's gonna kick me in the ass for being so mean to this girl--"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Julie spun to face the large, almost theater-sized screen in the lab. The large monitor displayed an amused looking Shadow. Ceres appeared before the screen and waved, "Hi there! Mom, its Shadow."

"Oh it is," Julie replied, "Then hang it up and tell him I'm not here."

Shadow smiled dryly as Julie Robotnik's figure appeared before him, "What's up?"

"…I was just checking in, we made it to Playa Blanca Island, so…" he drew his sentence deliberately.

"Oh!" the scientist snapped her fingers, "The motorbikes, I left em' for you at a small mom and pop kind of place called 'Azul Noche' they sell the best coffee cakes there. So when you get there talk to the bartender, my friend Joel. You can't miss him; he's the biggest, tallest guy there, and say these words in this sequence: 'Riding over the stars.' He'll pause when he wants you to fill in the blanks."

"Find a big guy named Joel, and 'Riding over the stars'," Shadow repeated to himself, "Oh, and Julie…?"

"Hmm? What is it Shadow?"

"Are these bikes guaranteed to be the top of the line?"

Julie laughed, then smiled mischievously, "As the sole owner of Robotnik Corp., I always guarantee my customers complete satisfaction. And knowing how especially picky your tastes are Shadow, I designed a bike especially for you. The red and black bike with the chrome rims is for you."

Smirking, Shadow nodded his head thoughtfully, "Understood and I'll hold you to the promise that I'll be satisfied, or I swear I'll trash your company."

Julie laughed once more, "Trust me, there shall be no complaints. Anyways, enjoy your time on Angel Island, and wish Sol good luck for me, and drop by the lab sometime again."

"Can do, later Robotnik."

"Bye Shadow, say goodbye Ceres."

"Bye-bye Shadow!"

* * *

Shadow finished the call and went over to his group of friends gathered near a gas station. It looked like even after their long boat trip, everyone still had plenty of energy. To better prove this point, Scythe and Daisy were going at it in one of their common, heated verbal battles.

Daisy snarled as she stepped forward to glare at Scythe, "No. You. Won't! You drove last time and we almost died! Remember when you tried to drive with your eyes closed!?"

"Well," Scythe shrugged, "It comes to some of us naturally and others of us can't do it. Period."

Daisy looked at him incredulously, "And you can't!!"

Sonic blew a raspberry and crossed his arms looking all too bored. Their little fight had begun to be an interesting spectacle, but now that they've been arguing for twenty minutes or so, it was just plain old! There had to be something or someone who could stop these two from bickering. Sonic's bored gaze broke when he saw, "Shad!"

The black hedgehog approached until he melted into the circle of friends, "What faker?"

Nowadays, it seemed that Sonic and Shadow used that word as a term of endearment. Sonic threw one of his hands out towards Daisy and Scythe who were still arguing, " Look at them! This is just so damn ridiculous! We've been trying to figure out who goes with whom on the motorbikes, but they're still jaw-jacking about everything!"

Shadow rubbed his temples wearily; trying to get Scythe and Daisy to stop arguing was like trying to get Sonic into a swimming pool; it just wasn't happening, "Fine has everyone else decided who they're going with?"

"I'm going with my Sonic," Amy smiled as she leaned into the smiling blue hedgehog, "He said he'll drive extra carefully for me."

"True," A playful smile crossed his face, "I promised to go slow with her."

Both Amy and Sonic turned to look at each other and giggled at his innuendo, as Flash looked away embarrassedly and blushed. Their son hadn't found the insinuation quite as humorous as his parents did.

Shadow fought hard to hold back his laughter at Flash's obvious disapproval. Cream stepped forward and spoke, "And I'm going with Tails. He's driving. I'm so terrified of just being on one of those things!"

Flash cleared his throat and spoke, "So Dad and mom are on one bike…"

Flash paused as he heard silly giggles rise from his mother and his father making more innuendos. Flash closed his eyes and finally opened them when he snapped around to face his parents. Sonic was holding Amy in one his arms pressed against him, "Dad, mom, _will _you give it a rest!?"

Sonic dropped Amy with a smile, "Sheesh, what's got into him?"

Flash rubbed his temples before he began again, "_Finally_…So those two are together, Tails and Cream are on one bike, Aunt Daisy and Uncle Scythe are together…and that leaves us with two bikes."

Flash turned to look at Shadow and Sunny, "And that leaves us."

Shadow looked at the small hedgehog girl, then back at the Sonic's near replica, "…I'll take Sunny, 'cause I know you'll probably want to be on your own."

Shadow smirked, "No it's fine with me if she wants to go come with. So do you want to ride with your Uncle Shadow?"

Sunny blinked at his rare affable smile, and felt herself going red in the face, "…Y-yes I would."

"Then it's settled, now all we have to do, is pick up our bikes from a place called the 'Azul Noche.'"

"Oh, we saw that place a couple of blocks back," Scythe hiked a thumb behind himself, "It's not too far from here. We bought a few coffees there while you were yapping on the phone."

Daisy stared at him pointedly and prompted him on further, "…What? What do you _want_ me to say? Oh _excuse me_, Daisy and Amy bought coffees, _I _bought hot milk."

Sonic arched an eyebrow, "'Hot milk'? What are you a cat or something?"

Scythe squinted one of his eyes, "Up yours, Blue."

"Well, if we want to arrive on Angel Island soon, we better get those bikes now," Tails looked up from his watch.

"Fine, let's hurry and go back!" Amy cried, marching out in front of everyone, "I want another mocha-crème supreme!"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged looks, the blue wonder made sure to speak out of earshot of his wife, "Well…let's get her that drink before she makes our lives hell."

"I'm all for that."

* * *

Shadow opened the café doors with a slight creak. Indeed as Julie had described, the store had a nice, comfy mom'n pops store feel to it. Soft jazz music was playing as a few customers read at their own tables.

Glancing to his left, Shadow saw a few wooden tables and a large color-changing jukebox. And to his right was a wall full of the place's credential awards and black and white photographs.

"Are ya just gonna stand there or are ya gonna come in? It's either in or out."

Shadow turned to look at he owner of the gruff voice, and turned to look straight ahead. A large badger that was nearly as tall as he was wide was staring right back at him, drying a coffee mug.

He didn't look hostile, but he certainly didn't look particularly friendly. Shadow entered the coffee shop and approached the large, wooden desk the badger was behind. By stepping right directly in front of him, Shadow realized that the badger was a couple of feet taller than him.

Also, his arms were nearly twice the size of Shadow's torso. This made Shadow slightly reevaluate how he was going to approach the beefy guy. Shadow noticed that the black and white badger was wearing a red vest that looked almost comically too small for him. And on the crimson vest was a nametag that read, 'Hi! I'm Joel! How can I help you today?'

"Do you have a staring problem or something pal?" the badger asked, bending over so he was a few inches above Shadow's head, "Or do you think I'm just damn sexy?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes slightly, "I'm looking for Joel, so let's cut the crap; are you him or not?"

The badger stood up straight, "And apparently, you can't read neither!"

One part of Shadow suddenly felt like correcting his English and the other part felt like denting the counter in with his face, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and _pretend_ you don't know to whom you speak."

"Well, I see a puny black an' red hedgie with girlie, curly quills; yeah I think I know pal."

Shadow felt his fingers digging into the front counter; his subconscious was screaming for a Chaos Blast, "Do you want a fight? I respect that this is a professional facility and all, but really now, if you want to go, I can manage that!"

Joel arched one eyebrow, "Buddy, I've fought much bigger guys than you. Hell, I've even gotten into with my sister Mimi and she's bigger than me! You're a pipsqueak. I ain't got no business fightin' ya little fella."

"I'm not small, you moron. You're just freakishly big, like your fat sister!" Shadow hissed with an evil smile.

Suddenly the badger became defensive and stretched himself out to his full height. He towered over Shadow and glared down at him, "And no one bad talks my sister but me."

The entire coffee store went silent and the customers stared at Shadow wide-eyed. He didn't seem to mind having an audience. His smile was now shark-like as he was possessed by his adrenaline.

Something snapped inside of him, as he was now burning for a fight and maybe it was due from all those years of giving up fighting, and maybe part of him wanted to still see if he had it in him. With glowing red eyes, Shadow motioned him on, "Bring it then Joel."

* * *

Chimes rang as the door opened and in walked Sonic and Amy. The second Amy entered, she smiled and leapt forward, "Hi Joel!"

A nearby customer stopped Amy, "Don't go any closer Miss, Joel and that stranger are about to have a fight. They're both big guys and well, you're a small girl!"

Amy frowned, "Who'd want to start a fight with Joel? He's the nicest guy in the world! Sonic we gotta stop that jerk!"

Sonic leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. He appeared to be amused, " Ames, that 'jerk' is Shad."

Amy's jaw dropped, "Shadow!?"

Amy sprung forward and slid herself between the both of them with a frown in place. Shadow's anger cooled down as he recognized a prominent pink figure, "…Amy?"

"Shadow, stop!"

The big badger glanced at her and smiled, all ferociousness disappearing at an alarming rate, "Why its little pinkie! 'Ello there dear! Back for more coffee? I told ya women couldn't resist our stuff! …And the dashing barkeep!"

Amy's laughter was completely drowned out by the large badger's thunderous laughter, which shook a few of the facilities tables and lights. Shadow slowly put down his dukes as he frowned in confusion. So everything was okay now? Because Amy was on friendly terms with the oversized bartender?

Sonic stepped up beside Amy, trying to hold onto the desk to stop the vibrations of the badger's echoing laughter. The bartender smiled and peered at Sonic closer, "So, is this the lucky devil you've told me about?"

"Yep," Amy smiled, "This is my Sonic."

"Sonic the hedgehog? The infamous hero? You snagged a good one! And a very pretty gal too," the bartender hit the back of Sonic's head with a paw that was the size of the blue hero's cranium, "You lucky bastard!"

Sonic's eyes went wide before the gigantic paw pounded his head forward. Sonic tried to ignore the ringing in his ears as his head swam, "Yeah…thanks…"

"So tell me Pinkie, how do you know a guy like girlie-man here?" When Joel motioned to Shadow, Sonic burst out into a riot of laughter.

"Girlie-man! I think I'll use that one!" Sonic guffawed.

Shadow looked at Sonic pointedly, "Shut up, moron."

Amy smiled, "We're friends of many years. Originally he should have come here to ask you something, so will you please listen to him?"

"But he was gonna try to beat in me bloody head!!"

"And you weren't going to do the same!?" Shadow shot back.

"Will you listen to him…" Amy touched Joel's large hand, "For me?"

The badger was met with soft emerald eyes which he noticed were tinged with gold specks. Also, not to mention the lovely eyes that stared back at him were held in an attractive face. In other words, Joel was screwed; there was no way he could say no to such a creature, "Aww hell, I give Pinkie. Just tell that hedgehog he better not cause any more mischief in my place."

Amy smiled sweetly at the bartender then turned around and glared at Shadow, "Get over there and handle your business."

Walking past her, Shadow bumped into Amy purposely then stood before Joel once again. She crossed her arms as Shadow glared levelly back at Joel. The badger stared at him with a masked hostility, "Well, want do you want Stripes? Ya want a drink? It'll cost you money. Or do you want a latte? It'll cost ya money, but it'll give ya a good ride on sugar."

Shadow's hostility melted as something clicked. Ride. He mentioned ride; that was one of the code words Julie had told him about. The red and black hedgehog leaned forward and replied, "I want a latte, so I can get a _ride_ on sugar."

Joel began something that sounded like a riddle, "It's something you do on a merry-go-round, on a horse, or a bull…"

"Riding," Shadow replied.

"Too low to go under too high to get…"

"Over."

Sonic and Amy exchanged confused looks at each other; the blue hero shrugged as Amy arched an eyebrow. Nevertheless the hefty badger continued.

"What's your favor word?"

Shadow smirked; _ooh a curve ball_. _However I do know the password you big, dirty bas--_

"The."

"What do we all wanna be when we grow up?"

Shadow smiled, "Stars."

The badger jumped back, "So…you know redhead Julie, huh Stripes?"

Shadow nodded, "That's correct."

"And that would make you the bloke that Redhead spoke about. She said, 'hold the bikes until a mean-looking black and red hedgehog comes in. He'll probably give you hell though.' And that certainly sounds like you alright, mate."

Shadow smiled; not in a friendly or hostile manner, "And now I would like the items she left you to watch for me."

"Sure, of course Stripes. Anything for a friend of Redhead's. Follow me to the back."

Shadow hopped over the front counter, followed by Sonic and Amy, and trailed the large badger to the back. There wasn't much there except for a couple of doors and another large badger cooking food.

He was wearing a walkman flipping pancakes and dancing and singing terribly. Sonic looked over at him and frowned, _'Man, that guy sounds like a damn cat yowling in pain.'_ Joel looked over to him, raised one hand and called out, " 'Ey, Jerry!"

The singing badger looked over at him, nodded his head and continued to sing terribly. Shadow, Amy, and Sonic all exchanged glances; Amy giggled at the sight while Sonic smiled and Shadow smirked. Joel finally led them to a door and stopped, "Here you are Stripes. Your goods lie behind this door."

Shadow stepped forward and knocked on the door and from the other side, a loud bang sounded. Interestingly enough, the loud boom sounded like a gun shot and a screechy, furious voice thundered, "WHO THE BLOODY HELL IS IT!? I'LL SHOOT YA HEAD OFF!"

'Stripes' immediately stopped knocking and Joel laughed anxiously. He turned to look at the three hedgehogs, "Um…wait here for a second."

He squeezed past Shadow and slammed the door closed. Once again, the three hedgehogs exchanged glances before the door opened. Joel stuck his head out of the door, "It's okay now, you can come in."

Shadow arched an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah I am Stripes, now get in here."

The three of them marched into the room and found themselves in what appeared to be a large garage filled with several hundreds of large cardboard boxes. Next to those cardboard boxes were Joel and another large badger. Only this one had eyelashes, wore a bright shock of red lipstick, had a long ponytail and had two big…

Shadow quickly diverted his eyes before he really could analyze her chest. That was just one place he didn't even wanna go. Joel stepped forward, "I'd like you to meet my sister Mimi. Sis, this is Stripes, Pinkie, and her blue hubby. I haven't nicknamed him yet."

The girl badger shook both Amy's and Sonic's hands with a strong, vigorous grip, "Nice to meet 'cha both, I'm Mimi. My, aren't you both such an adorable couple!? It makes me want to cry!"

She wiped a fake tear away then turned to face Shadow, "Ooh, and who is _this _handsome stranger? I'm--"

Just as she went to shake Shadow's hand, the gun in her other hand fired, making a few pieces of the ceiling sprinkle down, "Whoops! I forgot to put the safety back on!" she sang, "Or maybe you just excite me so much that I couldn't help that! You set me off baby!"

Amy and Sonic laughed at the big badger's words. Shadow shook her hand, thinking of a clever comeback, "I'm Shadow and don't worry, it happens to a lot of girls I meet."

Amy rolled her eyes and Sonic coughed, muttering a few unflattering words, but the big she-badger seemed intrigued with Stripes. When he tried to release his grip from her handshake, he realized that she wasn't letting go. She smiled at him, looking at him dreamily, "I'm not surprised…Shaddy…"

Mimi winked at him and Shadow blinked at the badger's sudden advance…which was highly unwanted on his part. The girl looked like she could not only bench press him, but her brother as well!

Sudden panic filled Shadow as he tried to release his grip from her large hand. Even as hard as he pulled, the lady badger giggled, knowing all too well that Shadow wasn't going to break her grip. Sonic turned to Shadow and frowned, "Shad, let go off her hand. Where are your manners?"

"She's holding me…" Shadow grunted, still trapped.

"Give me a smooch and we'll call it even," Mimi said with a large smile, one that made Shadow's eyes enlarge and his ears drop against his head like a bad puppy.

"For cryin' out loud Mimi!" Joel hissed, "Would you let his hand go!? He's tryin' to get his bike here."

With a pout, Mimi let his hand go and Shadow stumbled backwards a few paces. He stared back at her incredulously as Sonic roared with laughter and Amy tittered. Joel shook his head, "Anyhoo, why don't 'cha show Stripes where his bikes are Mimi?"

The girl badger perked up, "Oh sure! Come along now children! We have little time to waste!"

Just as she turned to leave, Mimi made an attempt to grab for Stripes, but he moved no, _scrambled_ out of the way. The ultimate life form actually activated his jet-powered shoes to avoid landing in her clutches. Miami ended up wrapping one arm around Pinkie's back. Amy blinked and soon found herself squeezed against the badger girl.

Mimi led her forward, pointing to any random object and giving her its history. Amy looked back at the other two hedgehogs with a pleading look. Joel trailed his sister, watching with a slight smile.

That was the time when Sonic made his move and elbowed Shadow in the side, "Shad, I think she's _totally_ diggin' you. Maybe you should make your move!"

Shadow glared, meeting Sonic's devious smile, "Maybe you should take my advice and shut up."

Mimi finally stopped and came across five large crates, "And here we are everybody! The coupe de grace."

Amy looked up at her skeptically, "I have a question for you Mimi, why do you even have that gun?"

Mimi smiled, "This hunting rifle? Well when my good friend Julie asks me to guard something for her, then dammit, I'll do it to the best of my ability."

She did a mock salute as she snapped to ten-hut and Joel sighed, "…Don't think that kind of weirdness runs in our family, it's only her."

"Why would you need a weapon for?" Shadow asked, "You're as strong as an ox and can probably pound anyone into the ground with your bare fists."

Mimi gasped and battered her eyelashes at him, "Aww, Shaddy that's so sweet!"

"Well it's the tru--!"

Mimi gathered him into a large hug, mashing his face straight into her large, voluptuous chest. Sonic went into a riot of laughter as Shadow struggled fruitlessly in an effort to escape her grasp. She only let him go when he went limp. Joel gasped, "Mimi! You're chokin' him! Let him go!"

Mimi looked at her brother madly, "Am not!"

But she let him go and Shadow started hyperventilating, taking in air gladly. Sonic was thrown into another fit of laughter, grabbing his sides. Although Shadow couldn't manage a verbal answer, he glared and proceeded to flip him off. Amy appeared beside Joel, looking intently at the crates, "So, are these were the bikes are?"

"You betcha, Pinkie."

With his bare hands, he ripped open the nailed-shut cardboard boxes as easily as one could rip up paper. He moved aside so Amy, Sonic, and a gasping Shadow could look inside. Amy's eyes lit up at the sight of the bike, "Whoa! That's so--"

"Badass!" Sonic cried happily.

As Joel pulled the bike out single-handed, Sonic let out a low whistle, dubitably impressed. A strong, cruiser style tourer with a V twin engine was pulled out. It was a shade of emerald green. Sonic touched the bike and looked back at Amy, " Ames…we're gonna have to get a divorce, 'cause I'm gonna be seeing a new woman…"

Amy crossed her arms, "Hmph."

"If you thought that was bad, you should see this."

Sonic and Amy turned to the sound of Shadow's voice. The ebony hedgehog pointed to a crate Mimi was standing behind. With a heavy fist, she broke a hole in the crate and ripped out another motorbike, only this time, it was a deep shade of blue. Sonic dropped to his knees and bowed, "Truly I am in awe. That is the bike we will ride Ames!"

Amy leaned against another crate and looked at him with half-lowered eyelids, "Oh? And what about your 'affair' with the green bike? What about her? Just gonna dump her for the new blue bike?"

Sonic shrugged and rose to his feet, "Well…she was easy…"

Shadow nodded his head after scanning the area approvingly then headed back on his way out. Joel looked over to him, "Where ya goin' Stripes?"

"Out to get the others, I'll be back momentarily."

With that Shadow glided out of the room silently. Joel looked from where Shadow had been, then met Sonic's green eyes, "You know, that guy seems like he's really stuffy. Like someone left an old rickety stick up his arse… "

"Truly…you have no idea."

---

"Now this is what I'm talkin' about!"

Scythe, Daisy, Tails and Cream walked into the room after Shadow. Flash and Sunny entered moments later, looking around at both of the badgers and the bikes. Each bike was a different color: blue, green, yellow, orange, and one that was red, silver, and black. Sunny blinked, "Wow…"

Daisy giggled, "I can't believe I'm really going to drive one of these things!"

Scythe turned to look at her sharply, "Who said you're going to drive!?"

"We decided remember?"

"No I don't 'remember'."

Joel hiked a thumb and Scythe and Daisy, "Married?"

Sonic nodded his head, bored, "Yep…"

"Ah, it shows."

Shadow approached the feuding couple, "Let's finish this argument here; pick a number one through ten."

"Five."

"Nine."

"Daisy wins, the number was one."

Scythe scowled, "_Bullshit_! You did that so she could win!"

"Well either way, she wins and you loose."

"Fine then," Scythe huffed, "I get to choose the bike."

He looked pointedly at the red, black and silver bike, "I want _that_ one."

"…That's the only one you can't have."

Scythe glared at him, "And why not, _Shad_? I thought you said I could choose the bike as I see fit."

"And you can…minus that one."

Testy wasn't a long-shot from how Scythe was behaving; he had just lost driving a powerful, agile machine to his wife. Isn't his gruff behavior to be expected after that!? She would do that lean, powerful vehicle no justice! None.

Scythe crossed his arms and glared, "I don't see your name on it."

Calmly, Shadow walked over to the bike and pointed to the black leather seat. There, his name was inscribed in silver cursive letters. Shadow looked up at Scythe with the exact same face he had when he first marched over to the bike, "…But I do."

Scythe glowered and narrowed his eyes more, if that was possible, "…Anyone _else _wanna take a shot at me today!? You might as well, 'cause nothin's goin' my way today…"

He sighed and looked at another bike, then looked away, "Yellow."

Daisy squealed and zipped before him, "Oh! That's the color I wanted!! Did you choose that for me?"

"No, I chose it because it reminded me of something I feel like doing now; taking a piss."

Sonic scooted forward, " Ames and I got the blue bike!"

Tails and Flash exchanged looks, "Which one do you want Flash?"

"I kinda have a preference for the green one..." Flash smiled, "That shade is pretty killer…"

"Great!" Cream cried, "Then we can take the orange one! I love orange!"

Shadow looked over to Sunny, "Ready to go, princess?"

Sunny looked down, before she looked back up at him, "Er…yes Uncle Shadow."

The couples saddled up, each hopping on their chosen bikes. Shadow was the last one to board. He watched as Sunny tried to mount the bike on her own, but the yellow hedgehog kept slipping, "Why this…stupid…thing!"

"Allow me?"

Shadow scooped her up and placed up onto the bike as easy as pie. Sunny looked at him wide-eyed before she quickly diverted her gaze from him and covered her face with one of the sleeves from her purple shirt, "Th-hanks."

Joel watched as everyone was preparing for their department, "You kids ready to scat?"

Sonic turned to look at his son, "Why don't you go first Flash, you're the least experienced of us all with these things."

Flash smiled, "Sure…but what is that gonna say about you when I show you up?"

Sonic laughed as his son gunned the motor and with a wave took off. Tails turned and looked back at Cream, "Ready to go Cream?"

Cream whimpered and slowly grabbed onto Tails tightly, "Y-yeah, sure…"

Tails started the engine, and went off following Flash. Cream clenched her eyes closed as the air brushed past her. Then, after battling for awhile, Cream let out a high-pitched squeal, "No! I lied! I'm not ready_! I'm not ready_!!"

The others laughed as her screams began to fade off into the distance. That left Sonic and Amy on the blue bike and Daisy and Scythe on yellow. They both motioned for Stripes to go first. Shadow turned and looked at Sunny, "Ready?"

Sunny nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his waist. Just as he started the motor, Mimi ran over to him, "Shaddy! Oh Shaddy! Please wait!"

Shadow paused to look at her and stood in place of the removed kick stand. "Please visit our humble café sometime!"

Shadow smirked, "I will…"

"But before you go…you must take this with you."

Shadow arched an eyebrow, "Take what?"

"…This!"

Mimi pounced forward and pulled Shadow's face forward into a kiss. She plowed him right on his left cheek and the ultimate life form's face altered from a state of shock to supreme disgust.

The others behind him burst out into a riot of laughter as Shadow hurriedly kicked off and drove off into the distance. Mimi ran after him a couple of steps before she waved off to him, bellowing, "Come back anytime now Shaddie! I'll always be waiting for you!"

"…You shouldn't have let that big cow do that," Sunny said slightly angry.

But the entire time, Shadow was far too preoccupied feeling dead sick to his stomach to answer her question. Not only was nausea making him dizzy but the nonstop, piercing laughter of Sonic, Scythe, and Amy burned his ears. In fact, they were all laughing so hard they all looked as if they were ready to turn blue in the face.

"Didja see the look on his face!?" -Scythe

"I think Shadow's got a new girlfriend!" -Amy

"Hi! My name's Shadow! And just now, I really liked that!" Sonic cried, laughing so hard that he actually was tearing.

Another slew of happy cackles broke out. Shadow merely glared ahead, gripping the handlebars tightly. He didn't even notice he was baring his teeth.

" I Promise…they all will get theirs in due time…" Shadow growled, wiping his face off.

Singing, "Shadow likes big butts and he cannot lie!"-Sonic

* * *

-(**Ha, poor Shad. And ya thought _you_ had it bad! Next time around the friends all gather back up together and the ceremonies begin: big feasts, fellowship, arm-wrestling competitions...rivalry and love confessions!? Stay tuned!)**


	4. The reunion

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

Epilogue

By: _UlTrAa ShAdDow_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Here's a new chapter, since I haven't updated in awhile, its a fairly long chapter. So enjoy!

---

-_"Before this is over, I will show you the true power of Chaos Control!" _

_"All right Shadow…let's get it on!" _

_"Cover your ears yellow hedgehog," Shadow said to Sunny, "This race is about to get ugly; there will be tons of swearing, ego trips, arrogant jaunts, and an overload of testosterone." _

**-Epilogue- **

When Julie Robontik said that she had hooked them up with the latest dirt bikes, she _meant _that she had hooked them up with the latest dirt bikes. The vehicle Shadow operated was a top of the line bike which drove like a tiger but purred like a kitten.

The wind tore through his quills as he glided along the terrain easily. Little Sunny had her arms wrapped around him as he guided the bike with expertise.

Beside him Daisy appeared handling a yellow tourer of her own. She looked over at him and smiled before holding one of her hands in the victory sign. Scythe, who was unhappily saddled behind her, scowled at him playfully.

Shadow laughed, knowing about how the couple had fought furiously over who was going to drive and somehow it didn't surprise the ultimate one that Daisy ended up behind the wheel.

Tails and Cream pulled up beside Daisy's zipping bike. Tails drove with a slight smile as Cream grabbed onto him as if for dear life, with her eyes clenched tightly shut and a frown in place, "I'm not scared…I'm not scared…"

Flash pulled up on his emerald green tourer, whooping and cutting through the landscape with a large smile as the wind tore through his blue quills. Just as Shadow turned to look away from Sonic's son, another bike zoomed into the air overhead.

"Whoooa-ha-ha-yeah!"

Performing a backwards 180 in the air, the fifth bike landed with a thump as Sonic gunned the engine with an almost insane grin. Shadow looked over to his left to glance at Sonic, "Eat my dust!"

"Sonic!" Amy screamed into the wind, "You promised you wouldn't drive like a psychopath!"

"You're right Ames," Sonic replied, "But would a psychopath do…THIS!?"

Laughing, Sonic popped another wheelie as he gunned the engine. Amy squealed and yelled at him furiously. Scythe, who sat crossed-armed frowned at the sight, "Aww dammit, I should be doing that kind of reckless stuff and I should have a furious wife behind me…With the moves I'd pull, I'd retire his ass!"

"Stop whinnying," Daisy replied, "You'll get to drive on our way back…Sheesh! And you say I act immature."

Glaring, Scythe focused his gaze on Shadow. The black hedgehog was driving skillfully with his daughter seated behind him. Scythe had found his new target and with a deep breath, he yelled at Shadow, causing Daisy's ears to ring, "HEY SHADOW!"

"WHAT?"

"WHY ARE YOU DRIVING LIKE A GRANDMA!? PUT SONIC'S ASS TO SHAME!"

Shadow looked at him for a few seconds more before he scoffed and turned his head away, "Do your backseat driving elsewhere, gramps."

"Hey! Look guys!"

Shadow turned to look forward. Sonic was in ahead of them, waving for their attention. The blue hedgehog looked at Shadow over his shoulder, "There she is! Angel Island at twelve o'clock!"

Just as the hero had claimed, up in the sky, the floating paradise slowly came into focus, like the way a camera lens adjusted a picture; with each passing second the island became sharper and clearer. Everyone looked up at the hovering island as the sun sprinkled its rays in spots over the isle. Even Cream, who was terrified managed to gaze up in wonder.

"Would you look at that," Sonic said with a smile.

"It's so beautiful," Cream replied.

Scythe cocked his head to the side slightly, "…It's all right…I guess."

Then an evil smile festered on his face as an idea came to mind, he leaned forward until he was within whispering distance of Daisy, "Look, we can see the island now…"

"Uh-huh."

"So why don't we dust these losers?"

"Hmm?" Daisy looked back at Scythe momentarily, "As in race them?"

Smiling darkly, Scythe nodded his head. A near reflection of his smile shone on her face, "Gotcha…"

Daisy gave the handlebars a vicious jerk and sent the bike flying off, leaving a trail of copper-hued dust in her wake. As the duo spend off, Scythe called back to the others, "LAST ONE TO THE ISLAND IS A LOSER, SUCKERS!!"

The yellow bike went off a small peak and got a nice amount of airtime. Vaguely, Scythe's laughter and Daisy's whooping could be heard. Suddenly Sonic and Tails exchanged looks, "Did you see that Tails? That looked like a challenge!"

"It certainly did Sonic," Tails called back. "Let's get em'!"

"Sonic _T._ Hedgehog…" Amy growled dangerously.

Cream gulped, "Tails!! No!!"

Sonic and Tails looked at each other again and smiled, "Sorry Ames, but who am I to turn down a challenge from the likes of Scythe and Daisy?"

"Hold on tight Cream!"

They both revved up their bikes and zoomed off, with Flash hot on their trail. Cream screamed as she closed her eyes and lurched against Tails, "Oh no! Not again!"

"_You're so dead, Sonic_!!" Amy yelled.

Shadow watched as the blue, orange and green tourers followed suit and took off on the plain's natural ramp. He watched neutrally as the bikes flipped and spiraled through the air.

When they landed, Shadow watched as the others sped off, leaving dust to accumulate in the sky. Sunny poked her head beside his shoulder to watch the others race off, then looked back at Shadow skeptically, "Are we just gonna let them win?"

He turned to look back at Sunny briefly, "Do you remember how your uncle Sonic told us to 'eat his dust.'? We're not gonna let him get away with that, now are we?"

Sunny's silver eyes focused on Shadow briefly, "…No, let's take him down."

The seriousness of Sunny's light voice made him laugh. Shadow set his sights before him to see the vague outline of Angel Island beginning to appear in the sky. Shadow's smile turned devious and before him, a rocky pathway curved up and made a perfect natural ramp.

Shadow revved the engine for all its worth and raced off with the bike standing on one tire. Just as he took off into the air, he heard Sunny's laughter bellowing in his ears. She hugged onto him tight as the world began to warp and flip around them quickly.

* * *

_'Shoot me, just somebody shoot me. I'm reading Shakespearian stories that make absolutely no sense.' _

_Maria sighed as her eyes idly scanned the thick, wordy literature reader. In her literature class for the winter quarter they would be examining a medley of Shakespearian pieces and in her opinion the infamous, ingenious Shakespeare was a little too long-winded and boring. His works were just simply the product of someone with way too much free time on their hands. _

_She sighed and began scribbling little doodles in her notebook beside a couple of half-done (half-assed more like it) notes she took on the current assigned work of fiction. Just as she was finishing the unflattering caricature of her old, nearly blind teacher, she stopped drawing. _

_Rouge Maria blinked, she suddenly had the weird feeling that someone was looking at her. Following her hunch, she glanced up and sure enough, gazing from her across the classroom was none of than Flash. _

_Instead of appearing dead bored, he looked alert as if he had been staring at her hard. 'What in the world is he staring at? Do I have something on my face? Aw crap! I knew I shouldn't have eaten that messy lasagna for lunch!'_

_Then, when he noticed that she was looking at him, a dreamy smile stole his face and he waved back at her airily. With the combination of his dashing looks and his friendly gesture, Rouge Maria glowed scarlet like a rose. _

_'Man he is so cute though, I wonder--crap! He's caught me staring!' _

_Before Maria's embarrassment could further escalate, one of her classmates had thrown a paper airplane, designated for one of his friends across the room, but it flew straight into one of her eyes. _

_"OWW! SON OF A BI—" _

* * *

"Maria?" 

"Huh? What?"

"You're daydreaming again…with a stupid look on your face."

"Ah, shuddap."

It was a sunny, bright noon and enjoying it together were Sol and Maria. They walked idly along the green meadows, savoring the presence of each other. They were just right outside of the echidnas' great stone house.

In fact, they were near enough to wave to Tikal, who was picking a fresh batch of flowers for their home and Knuckles was lounging in a chair, none too secretly admiring his wife's nice figure.

Sol looked up into the sky and sighed contently; although their conversation had been irrelevant, it was still nice to relax. Maria looked up at the taller echidna, "So, how did your parents meet?"

He looked up thoughtfully, "Well, father said he first met mother at his very own guardian trial."

Maria smiled at him, "Oh really? You mean back in the day when uncle Knuckles was doing the same thing that you're doing now?"

"Yeah," Sol smiled, "Each guardian ends up having to duel one of the previous guardians of the Master Emerald. So it was chosen that dad had to fight my mother."

"That's so cool!"

"It is. Dad said that when he first saw her, he thought she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen," Sol smirked, "He was also terrified."

"Of what?"

"He told me that he was scared that he'd have to hurt her when they fought. So apparently, for the first few minutes they fought, father was on the defensive and mother was pummeling him. He said she was an amazing fighter."

Maria looked away thoughtfully, picturing her aunt Tikal as a fighter. Her aunt was a docile, graceful creature; how could she possibly give Knuckles a run for his money? It was hard to picture Tikal pounding away at Knuckles.

Rouge Maria knew that Tikal was armed with a large arrayal of martial arts, why she even caught her aunt performing a couple of times in the morning.

The echidna princess told her that she practiced it daily as a form of meditation. She was completely adverse to violence or fighting of any kind. Maria looked back at Sol, very interested, "So how did uncle win?"

Sol laughed, "Father said he spoke the truth."

"What?"

Sol gazed at Maria and gave her a smile that nearly made her heart stop, "He told mother that she was beautiful. It threw her off completely and he put her in a hold until she gave up."

"Well, I guess that's a win-win situation, although if I was auntie, I probably would have called him a coward for refusing to fight me."

"And, how did your parents meet?"

Maria smirked the way only one of Shadow's lineage could, "Well, my mother used to be a thief and a pretty good one as well! She too knew martial arts. Mom and dad met when they decided to team up with doctor Eggman to take over the world. At first, they tried to hate each other but you know how that goes."

Sol blinked, "Sounds like your mother was quite a woman."

"She was. Dad said he made the first passes at mom but uncle Sonic says mom did."

Sol blinked, " 'Made passes'?"

Maria burst out laughing, "Oh you know! Like hitting on someone, pick-up lines. Just being suave."

"…I still don't understand what you mean," Sol frowned thoughtfully.

Maria laughed then faced him, "Kinda doin' something….like this…"

The athletic girl smiled, then slowly slipped her hand into his. Not too obviously but just noticeable enough. Her grin widened at his puzzled reaction.

If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that the guardian to-be appeared a little flustered, "Uh…so, what does that prove?"

Slowly Maria unwrapped her fingers from his hand and trailed her fingers up his arms. She had purposely stroked his arm to produce tingles and tickling sensations from her deliberate, slow trails.

She almost wanted to break out laughing once she saw Sol's irises shrink. She finally ceased and Sol pulled his arm away from her. Maria smiled at him, "Well, what do you think of that?"

"That was weird! If that's being…?"

" Hit-on?"

"Yeah, hit-on, then I don't like it!"

That was a half truth. It was true that the guardian hadn't liked the ticklish feelings he received, however he didn't mind in the least bit that Maria was touching him. Her fingers were slender and smooth.

Maria laughed, amused by Sol's Reaction. She stepped closer to him, purple eyes shinning mischievously, "Here, let me show you how the _pros_ do it."

A wicked smirk stole the pretty girl's face as she tugged Sol's face down to her level. The guardian's eyes widened as he saw Maria quickly close the distance between them.

He held his breath as Maria closed her eyes. Just when it seemed that Sol had been waiting for Maria's move, the girl pulled away and looked at him, "…Do you hear that?"

"…Hear what?"

Maria looked at the horizon and smiled, "Look! It's them! The others!"

Sol followed her gaze and found a group of motorbikes heading for them. It looked like the others where finally here. He blinked, wondering whether or not Maria was going to finish what she had started.

It looked like she had other plans, as she was already screaming and waving to the others. Sol turned and began to leave, "…I'll go get mother and father."

Maria watched as the specks began to grow closer and the loud, revving engines grew stronger. The bat waved as they descended upon her position. A glinting, red, silver and black motorbike was neck and neck with a blue one.

The girl leaned forward and squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the racers. She instantly smiled as she recognized her dad…and was that her uncle Sonic on the blue bike? Maria smiled dangerously as she crossed her arms, "Uh oh, it looks like unc and dad are racing again…this oughta be good."

---

Sunny blinked as she opened her eyes; the tall, maroon plateaus and wine mountains were slowly drifting closer. The staid girl barely smiled; this meant that the race was about to come to a close, soon Shadow and Sonic would be pulling all-out stunts to win. She shifted in her seat to receive a better grip upon Shadow; she knew that this would turn into in all-out warfare.

And just when she began to wonder when it was going to begin, a green and a yellow tourer jetted past them all; Shadow and Sonic exchanged shark-like grins; it was time to begin the rat race.

Smirking, Flash tore through the narrow gasps between Shadow and Sonic's bikes. Right alongside of him was Daisy focused on the approaching island.

Tails, while watching the others zip off across the terrain, had decided to forgo the race and cruise at an easy speed; he had already put Cream through a lot with the speedy driving he had done today.

The blue wonder sped up until he was right beside the yellow tourer; both Scythe and Daisy greeted him with challenging, 'you want some of this?' glances.

Sonic shifted gears and accelerated, only until he was right in front of them. Just as Daisy gathered speed, Sonic popped a wheelie and landed hard; this resulted in a nice-sized chunk of dirt flying to the eyes of those seated on the yellow tourer.

With a squeal, Daisy veered off, slowing down and instantly disqualifying herself from the race; there was no way she was going to catch up after that.

"Bastard!" Scythe yelled from behind, "Jerk! Wench! …Your mother's ugly!!"

Next in line was Flash, his own son. As Sonic pulled up beside his son, the feud began, "_Sonic Wind_!"

Amy glared at Sonic incredulously, "I _know_ you didn't just do that! Are you trying to kill our son!? What is going through your--"

Before the lady hedgehog could finish, Flash answered back with an assault of his own, "_Storming Wind_!"

Amy blinked, "…What!?"

"It's all fair in war, Amykins!" Sonic replied, "But now, we have to show our kid just who he's dealing with!"

"His mom and dad!" Amy roared, as if that would end Sonic's crazy behavior.

But it didn't, "Exactly! He's got a good ten years before he can even dream of beatin' his folks!"

Amy sighed, "Could you please try and _not_ kill our only child in a dirt bike race!? We're a family! Let's stay together!"

"That's it! Staying together!" Sonic called over his shoulder, "You're genius Ames!"

"…Huh?"

"Hey Flash! Your mother and I are getting a divorce!"

Their son blanched, "What!?"

"And gotcha!" The blue hero smiled devilishly as he summoned another Sonic Wind and hit Flash, who was still trying to digest his words. The gale of azure wind spun his son's motorbike out of control. There was no way Flash would be able to win the race now.

"Bye son!" Sonic waved, "Don't worry, I still think your mother's as fine as can be!"

"Cheater! Jerk!" Flash shouted, "…See if I ever get you something for Father's day again!"

"Muwhahaha," another grin crossed the azure hero's face. Amy poked her head to the side to glance at her husband, "Well, now that you've eliminated everyone, can you act sane now!?"

"Hmm, we're not done yet, we still have one more guy to thrash. And that's…"

Appearing as if cued, the red, black and silver motorbike pulled up. Riding shotgun was Sunny and driving it was none other than…

"Shadow," Sonic smiled darkly.

"Before this is over, I will show you the true power of Chaos Control!"

"All right Shadow…let's get it on!"

"Cover your ears yellow hedgehog," Shadow said to Sunny, "This race is about to get ugly; there will be tons of swearing, ego trips, arrogant jaunts, and an overload of testosterone."

---

Standing along with Knuckles, Tikal, and Sol, Maria pointed, "Look Sol! Here they come!"

The echidna princess raised a hand to shield her eyes from the strong sun, "…Goodness, are they racing again?"

"Oh, you know how those two are," Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Immature; trying to show each other up at every chance. But we all know I'd win if I was racing them."

"Of course you would, love," Tikal smiled as Sol gave his dad an odd look.

"Hey!" Maria screamed, waving her hands in the air, "Over here!"

The red and the blue motorbike were approaching their proximity, in fact, Sonic and Shadow were so close that the echidna family and Maria could see that they both were battling each other as they were driving.

Somehow, Sonic was leaned off his bike, clawing at Shadow as his dark counterpart had his arms around his neck in a stranglehold. Amy was sweating bullets, as she was forced to steer the blue motorbike from behind her husband. Sunny didn't have to take the wheel of her tourer because Shadow was using a foot to steer.

"Sonic! Shadow!" Amy screeched, "Stop this madness!"

Her green eyes wandered ahead and she saw the outlines of her friends. In the middle of the three echidnas, Maria was waving at them. What were they doing? They were standing right in their warpath!

"Eek! We're going to hit them!" Amy slammed on the brakes, creating a terrible screeching noise.

"Whoa!" Sonic instantly let go off Shadow, who too decided to put on the brakes. The friendly smiles upon the echidna family's faces disappeared as they saw the breaking bikes.

" Oh _tihs."_

_"_Knuckles!" Tikal exclaimed, "Watch your language in front of Sol!!"

"Honey, look right in front of you!!"

Tikal glanced forward and saw the approaching bikes, "Oh...my..RUN!"

Fleeing for their lives, Knuckles and Sol turned and dove out of harm's way as Tikal teleported to a safer distance. Maria merely flew into the air overhead and watched as the bikes skid to a halt.

Both tourers came to a halt with engines overheated and steaming. Shadow had a 'did I do that' look upon his face, and Sonic, who was once driving his motorbike, was now seated behind Amy.

The pink hedgehog looked the worst out all of them: her eyes were no bigger than marbles and she looked as if she would go into shock. Not to mention that her quills were askew much worse than Shadow's and Sonic's.

"I give that stop an eight," Knuckles smiled.

"Whoo," Sonic smirked and rose off the bike and helped the quivering Amy up, "Let's do that again!"

As Shadow, Sunny and the Sonics were staggering to their feet, the other three bikes arrived. Flash hung back, looking particularly peeved at his dad. Scythe walked over to Shadow, "By the way, that backwards three-sixty you pulled off was badass."

"It's good to have admirers of my work. Daisy wasn't half bad either, I suppose." Shadow smirked, "You drove pretty well."

Scythe frowned and turned the slightly disorientated Shadow the right way, "Shadow, _this_ is Daisy. I am not a female."

Daisy smiled at Shadow and held a fist in the air, "Well, I'll get you next time! I was just generous and let you win!"

"I bet."

"Hey, get offa my property."

Knuckles approached beaming with Tikal and Sol in tow. Sonic grinned and made a beeline for his friend, "What's up red?"

The guardian gave him a high-five and hugged him, "Not much blue. My boy's gonna become a guardian though."

Sonic smiled at Sol, "Is that so? Red junior's gonna be a guardian like his mommy and daddy. Man do you have some shoes to fill 'cause Knuckles is the strongest guardian to ever grace the earth and then there's Tikal, the hottest guardian ever."

Tikal made her way over to Amy and Daisy and hugged them, "Oh, it is such a pleasure to see you all again my friends!"

Amy laughed, "Likewise Tikal."

"And by the way, we bought you more of those juice drinks you crave so much," Daisy winked.

Tikal paused and her eyes grew beady, "You mean…those pinacolada smoothies!?"

Daisy nodded her head and Tikal squealed and hugged her, "Thank you! I LOVE those!"

The yellow hedgehog gasped, feeling her oxygen leaving her, Tikal was squeezing the air right out of her lungs, "….You're…welcome…"

Flash spotted his best friend and waved to him, "Hey Sol! What's hangin' my good man?"

"Nothin' you want to get into."

"Oh is that so?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

Now they stood a few feet apart and Flash feigned a punch and Sol ducked, twice. Afterwards they both stared at each other intensely, stuck out their tongues then laughed and met with a hug. During the whole display Maria's jaw dropped.

"What was that!?"

"That," Flash smiled, "was the secret handshake. Jealous?"

"Now why would I be jealous of that stupi--"

He went past his friend and greeted Maria by sweeping her off her feet and into a hug. The girl looked down at him and burst into vivid laughter. Sol's smile faded slightly. At their display of affection, he couldn't quite place the emotion he was feeling.

"And what's that?" Sol scoffed, crossing his arms, "Your secret handshake?"

Flash instantly dropped Maria at the comment, halfway through another spin. The blue hedgehog ended up launching Maria through the air and she crash-landed in a heap. Sol snickered quietly as Flash blanched, "Oh shit."

The two boys made their way over to Maria, who was so trashed that she could barely determine what was up and what was down, "Sorry Maria! I didn't mean to do that."

"And I didn't mean to do this," Maria flipped them both off. Sol and Flash exchanged looks as Maria continued, waving the magical finger around, "How do ya like the taste of that one!?"

"Maria," Amy said calmly and secretly amused that she had caught Maria doing something she shouldn't have, "I know that wasn't an indecent signal you were making, am I correct young lady? Because that's not a very nice thing to do."

Shadow's daughter suddenly felt as if she was only three inches tall, "N-no auntie…"

"That's good," Amy smiled, knowing good and well Maria was sorry, "Now who's been doing that so you think that kind of behavior is appropriate?"

Appropriately enough, behind Amy it seemed as if Sonic and Scythe were having a battle at who can flip each other off the most. Amy turned around just in the neck of time to see the two of them laughing, acting like two immature elementary school boys. The pink hedgehog spun back to Maria, her expression stolid, "…Go get me my hammer."

* * *

Tikal and Knuckles, the night before, had arranged the sleeping preparations. As expected, the three married couples: Sonic and Amy, Tails and Cream, and Scythe and Daisy were all given their own quarters. Shadow also had his own area in the livingroom. 

As for the three young'uns, Flash, Sol and Maria were destined to share a room. This information was especially withheld from Shadow for very good reason; he would flip if he knew his daughter was sharing the same room as two boys.

Flash, being tailed by Maria and Sol, entered the future guardian's room. With a quick glance around the room Flash belly-flopped onto his friend's bed, "I got dibs on the bed."

Walking past, Maria pulled Flash's tail; the blue hedgehog yelped, "You don't have dibs on anything here Flashy."

"Well, where did you sleep before I got here?" Also, Sol pushed Flash off of the bed so that the blue hedgehog was positioned on the floor on top of on Maria's pallet.

"Exactly where you're lying right now," Maria smiled wanly.

Flash glanced sideways at Sol, "Are you kidding me? You let Maria sleep on the floor while you horded the bed to yourself!?"

"Is there something _wrong _with sleeping in my own bed!?" Sol replied to his friend's incredulous tone.

"Where's your chivalry?"

Offended, "And what about _you_ taking 'dibs' on the bed!?"

"Well, I only did it just because. But I'd give it to Maria indisputably!"

"Oh yeah, like I believe that!"

"Well, why wouldn't you? She's a lady!"

Maria's face rouged and she snorted, "I'm fine. I can handle sleeping on the floor."

"Dude, give the lady your bed."

Flash walked to the other end of the bed and tried to pull the comforter out of Sol's grasp but the only thing he did manage to do was receive a tug from Sol's end. The guardian arched an eyebrow with a look that said, '_What are you doing?' _

Sol scoffed, "Well, if you were listening, you'd have heard that she said she doesn't want to sleep there."

"Just do it anyways."

Sol and Flash had engaged in a tug of war, yanking the quilts and blankets violently against each other. At first, the tugs between them had started out on a more amiable level where they barely pulled.

However, when both of the boys realized that the other wasn't going to let go, the playful pulls became vicious wrenches. With Sol's natural echidna strength to his advantage, he easily lifted Flash off of his feet and flung him across the room. Flash landed on his back, somersaulted forward, and grabbed the blanket again.

Sol frowned, slightly annoyed by his resilience, "Will you let go already!?"

"Why don't _you_ let go."

"Because it's my quilt!"

"Bite me!"

"…Why would I!?"

"It's an expression ya idiot!"

"Well 'bite me' back, Flash!"

Maria growled, "Damn it! Will both stop!? You're acting like five-year olds!"

Neither teenager appeared to have heard her, as they continued their vicious tugging. Sol narrowed his eyes slightly, mouth conforming into a firm line, "Fine, you asked for it."

He gave the quilt another tug, pulling Flashing. The pull had the opposite of Sol's desired effect. Instead of letting go and falling flat on his stomach, Flash had held onto the blanket and bulleted straight for Sol.

Sol's blue eyes widened seconds before Flash crashed into him. Maria gasped wordlessly as Sol's bed collapsed in the mayhem, sending both of the teens to the floor in a heap.

"Yaah!!"

Unsurely, Maria walked over to them and stopped, looking at the tangle of blue and red limbs and bodies, "…Are you guys okay?"

Flash moaned, as he slowly sat up to rub his head. He felt a shifting form below himself and when he looked down he saw Sol's glaring face, "…Get off of me."

With a sheepish grin, Flash rolled off of his friend and Sol slowly rose to his feet. Sol stood and looked at his collapsed bed, his jaw dropped, "…You broke my bed!"

Flash raised both of his hands defensively, "Hey, it wasn't only me! You were the one jumping, standing on the bed."

"…I was not jumping!!"

"Well whatever, it takes two to tango."

The sound of approaching footsteps made the two boys stop their arguing. In a moments notice, the door to Sol's bedroom was flung open and Knuckles, accompanied by other concerned faces, peered in, "…You guys okay in here? We heard that boom all the way from downstairs."

"Oh, we're fine," Flash replied, as if nothing was wrong, "But we just broke Sol's bed."

Knuckles' left eye began to twitch as Amy stepped forward, "Well, as long as you're all okay. That's what really matters."

Tikal blinked and turned to look at Knuckles. He was still staring off into space angrily with his canines bared and an eye twitching compulsively, "What makes you frown, my love?"

"…It took," Knuckles hissed, "me three days to make that bed! _Three days_! Why…"

Cream looked at Amy, "And with everyone visiting, we're all out of spare blankets!"

"Is that so?"

Knuckles however, kept lolling on, "…It took forever to chop up all that wood…"

Amy paused, tapped her chin thoughtfully, then turned to face the three adolescences, "If we're really out of blankets, then you three may have to share a sleeping pallet."

"…And all the wood had to be shaped and chiseled…"

The trio of kids exchanged looks before Shadow suddenly forced his way out of the crowd of by standers. He had heard Amy's statement and looked none too happy, "Oh no they won't."

Amy gazed at Shadow dryly, "Shadow, it's not like she'll be sleeping with strangers. She's known---_you've_ known these boys for the entire duration of their young lives!"

In return, Shadow gave Amy a whimsical half glare, "Regardless, Maria shouldn't---_won't_ be sleeping with any boy until she has a ring on her finger and even then she won't."

The pink one crossed her arms and lowered her eyelids; what a drama queen! "By the way, when you say 'sleeping' in that context, it's totally different from what I'm saying."

"…And then there was shaping the bed. I'm no carpenter, but I made one _heck_ of a bed. That was a masterpiece."

"Knuckles!" Sonic cried, "Jiminy! Get a grip! I'll buy Sol another damn bed!"

The blue wonder turned to look at Shadow, " But I agree with Ames. I mean, it's not like Superstar will be straddling and riding Flash at night."

An eerie, stuffy silence took then air. Then all at once turmoil ensued; Flash and Maria were beet-red, jabbering at Sonic furiously, Shadow was yanking Maria away, sheltering her from any person in the room with a y chromosome, and somewhere, Scythe had thrown his head back and was laughing like a madman.

The whole situation had him in stitches. The statement had done a number on Shadow as well, he immediately wrapped his arms around Maria and pulled her to his side. Maria glared at her dad, "Dad!!"

Sol however, seemed to have missed the meaning behind Sonic's words, "…I don't get it…"

Shadow looked at Maria, then back at Sonic and Amy, "If anything, Maria will share a pallet with me."

Sonic arched an eyebrow, "…No she won't."

Maria turned and looked at Shadow, unhappy about his previous statement, "I am eighteen years old dad and an adult--"

"---And you will be staying with me," Shadow finished, not missing a beat.

Maria's face began to turn red from anger; why was she stuck with such a stubborn man for her dad? He was so inflexible that if he tried to bend over to touch his toes he'd probably break in half.

"Or," Shadow replied, "Perhaps you can share a room with Sunny."

The girl hedgehog blinked, "But I'm staying with my parents."

Shadow turned to look at Sonic and Amy, "No room. We kicked our own kid out."

Then Shadow looked at Tails and Cream. The new couple looked at each other and shook their heads as well. The ultimate one frowned, turning to Maria. He wasn't quite ready to admit his defeat yet, "Then you'll just have to sleep outside where it's damn cold!!"

Knuckles, as well as the others fought hard to hold back their laughter as Maria glared, "…_Dad_…"

"Enjoy your night in the wilderness Maria. If you get thirsty, there are rivers nearby," Shadow said. This time Amy took her turn to glare at Shadow, "…Shadow…you're just being ridiculous."

Sonic stepped beside Amy and smiled, "Just give up man, you've lost."

Knuckles sighed; he figured that he had better step in or this could possibly turn out into another one of Sonic and Shadow's infamous fights. Also, Amy looked like she was ready to squeeze the life out of Shadow; the wise guardian knew he had to quell the pink monster before she went rabid.

"Look, how about we do this in an orderly manner; Sonic, Shadow, you guys look as if they're about to commence world war three and Amy looks ready to go medieval on anyone. Let's take a vote on this."

Shadow glared at Knuckles, "We're not going to vote. I'm her father and that's that."

Knuckles continued as if Shadow hadn't spoken, "All in favor of Maria staying with Shadow, raise your hands."

Despite ridiculing Knuckles' idea, the ultimate one raised his hand. Sunny looked around then slowly raised her hand. Knuckles didn't even bother counting, "…And all who oppose?"

The complete crowd raised their hands. Scythe, with his hand raised sky-high looked at Shadow and smiled at him falsely.

It was just another way for him to get back at his red and black counterpart. Yet again Knuckles didn't bother in tallying the numbers, "Well Shadow, you loose."

Shadow stiffened, "…As her parent, my vote carries clout. So it should count as ten votes…"

Knuckles laughed, "Now, what kind of shoddy logic is that? That's something I'd expect to hear from Sonic!"

Sonic growled, "Hey! Let's not stray here! Shadow lost!"

Tails' two tails flicked, "And we voted. So uh, yeah you lost Shadow."

Shadow turned away from his friends and crossed his arms, "Don't talk to me fox, you didn't vote in my favor. I see that my only _true_ ally here is the yellow hedgehog's little carbon copy."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Well anyways, I'll go get the last of the pillows."

"I certainly hope no more chaos like this shall ensure," Tikal looked away worriedly.

"Sonic and Shadow are within three meters of each other," Tails scoffed, "Of course more insanity shall ensue!"

"...Good point," Cream replied thoughtfully.

"...I'm going to get another pinacolada," Tikal sighed.

* * *

"Ah yes, today is a mighty fine day for some barbecue." 

Little did many know, Knuckles was not only the guardian of the Master Emerald but in his spare time he was a chef extraordinaire. The red titan stood behind his large, powerful grill with his arms crossed.

Besides fighting, this was his world. The sizzling grill was his stadium and the were cooking utensils were his weapons.

Yes, now this was where he belonged! Behind the world's most powerful, ass-kicking grill. Knuckles was also decked out in his favorite apron, a green and yellow trimmed garment. It not only matched his grill, but his shoes as well.

The apron had been bought by Sonic, but the idea of the gift was from the complete horde of his friends. Everyone knew Knuckles loved to cook; as hesitant as he was to admit it, he was a mighty darn good one too.

He was in his element as he stood behind his grill, another gift from Sonic, and barbecued various meats. Fish, beef, pork, and chicken all sizzled on his grill. Knuckles twirled the double-edge cooking utensil in his fingers skillfully.

He smiled; yes the king was at his throne today. Sonic walked up beside Knuckles, inspecting his work, "So…how's the grub comin' chef?"

Knuckles smiled, "It's goin' Sonic. Looks like we'll have another batch of masterpieces. I mean, look at the texture of this food. When you sink your teeth into my food, it'll fall right off the bone. This is a beautiful thing."

Sonic wiped his watering mouth, "Yeah…it sounds nice. Say, do you want to take a break now? I can watch the food."

"No thanks, I've got everything under control."

"…Really?"

"Yeah."

"…Oh. I understand," Sonic said with a sagely quality to his voice, "Using another man's grill is like sleeping in his bed."

Knuckles nodded, "Damn straight."

The guardian leaned back to yell at Scythe, "Hey Scythe?"

"Yes, chef chuckles?"

He pointed the two-pronged cooking instrument at him, jabbing it with every other word spoken, "Find Amy, she's supposed to have the next batch of stuff for me to grill."

Scythe followed the order, _not_ because one of his friends had asked but because he knew that in the long run, it would constitute dinner being done quicker. The black and silver hedgehog passed his daughter on the fly through the door, poked her in the side and entered the kitchen.

He stopped when he saw the condition of the kitchen; it was wrecked. Various bits of chopped food where everywhere: on the tabletops, stovetops, floor, walls and Scythe squinted upwards.

…The ceiling too!? Who in the world had managed to get a mashed radish stuck on the ceiling? Scythe frowned; who _sucked_ this bad at cooking!? Before he could ponder on the idea any longer, his wife walked in, "Hey there!"

She was wearing a white apron and had a knife in hand. Scythe blinked, "…What are you doing?"

Daisy grabbed a spare potato from a bowl on the table and laid it on the cutting board, "What does it look like, silly? I'm cooking! I'm going to make potato salad."

As she went to slice the potato, somehow Daisy ended up missing. In fact, she managed to send the potato sailing across the room. It hit the wall with a thud and landed on the floor. Scythe's silver eyes shifted to her slowly, "…Let me rephrase that, what do you _think_ you're doing? You can't cook to save your life."

Daisy's face rouged from anger, "Yes I can! I can too cook!"

Scythe looked unfazed, "No you can't. Sunny and I would rather starve. That's why _I _cook."

Daisy snarled, "Well I'm going to make this salad and you're not going to stop me!"

"Oh yes I will. Look what you've done to this place. Are the fruit and vegetables having a war or what?"

Daisy grabbed another potato and started cutting it savagely. Scythe quickly darted over to her, "Oh no you freakin' don't!"

He grabbed the knife and they began to wrestle and tug against each other, "Let go! You…big jerk!"

"Not until you give up your evil ways, woman!"

"Arrrrrgghh!!"

* * *

From where he was sitting, Shadow could hear every curse, thump, bang, and boom going on from the power struggle in the kitchen. Tepidly, Shadow picked up a magazine and looked at its cover, "What's this say? 'Ten different ways to please your man'." 

Shadow blinked, blinked again then shrugged, "Well, it certainly beats going in there and trying to stop their stupid little feud."

With perfect timing, Sonic and Amy entered the room just as Shadow was gazing at the magazine's table of contents, "But Sonic I just made lemonade! And I'm not going to ask Knuckles to make you chilidogs!"

"But Amykins, pwease can you make me some chilidogs? Pweeeease?" Sonic suddenly paused, spotting Shadow on the couch and he instantly lost his cutesy voice and suddenly sounded all tough and manly again, "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Too late. Shadow had heard far too much already, "'Amykins'?"

His face reddened, "Shuddap."

Again, "'Amykins'? Is that what you call her, faker?"

"Shut UP Shadow!"

Amy sighed, "But really, I won't make you chili dogs. Knuckles _is_ cooking tons of meat, so settle on something he cooks."

But Shadow wasn't nearly done with him yet, "Pweease?"

Sonic spun around and tromped over toward Shadow with a murderous expression, "_Why you—!!"_

The next words Sonic strung together, if he had been on television, would have been one big fat bleep. Amy looked appalled and secretly awed at the fluency and skill of his cursing.

"—And the donkey your mother rode on!" Sonic finished.

The blue hero suddenly looked at the magazine Shadow had in his hands, "And what in the world are you reading!?"

Shadow looked at the magazine then back at Sonic, this didn't look too good. "…"

And in his most powerful fashion, the ultimate life form weighed the magazine, chucked it at Sonic, and tailed it out of there. Immediately Sonic pursued him.

Amy growled then picked up the magazine and scanned the cover, "Oh my! And just who does this magazine belong to? Why I bet---ooh, that's actually a pretty good idea…"

* * *

The feast had been a glorious success. The barbecued meats where savory and tender, the lemonades, orangeades, and other prepared beverages were sweet and icy, and the deserts were to die for. 

Currently, the four youngsters: Maria, Flash, Sol and Sunny were finishing the last of the deserts. Amy had a serving of chocolate eggnog for the children.

"Oh man," Maria moaned, slurping up the last contents of her beverage, "Flashy, your mother's chocolate eggnog is the best!"

A loud, content belch satisfied her thought. Flash lowered his mug and smirked; no one on earth made eggnog quite like his mother. She took eggnog, an already delightful treat, and somehow perfected it.

With the addition of chocolate, Amy plumped the creamy beverage with a new flare of sophisticated flavor. One to die for. Sunny glared at Flash, "That was disgusting."

A large hand ruffled her head of hair, "No one asked you, pipsqueak."

While Flash and Sunny were getting into an argument, Maria turned to look at the red guardian beside her. He appeared to be off in his thoughts, contemplating. Sol only removed himself from his reflection when he felt someone nudge his shoulder. He gazed over to see Maria smiling at him, "Hey."

"Maria." He smiled back at her.

"I see that you have some eggnog left," she motioned at his cup, "Wanna share?"

"Sure."

Before Sol could give his friend the last cup of eggnog, Maria stuck her straw in and began sipping alongside of the guardian. They both shared a drink the way two daters would. Sol smiled as Maria giggled, then a third straw joined. It was courtesy of Flash Hedgehog.

"You wanna join in Flash?" Maria smiled at him.

"Of course."

"Even though three's a crowd?"

Flash glanced up at the red echidna's statement. He blinked; if he didn't know any better, he'd think that _Sol_ was giving _him_ a challenging stare.

"Hey Maria," Sol said suddenly, "There's another slice of fruit pie in the kitchen. Come with me?"

"Sure."

Maria rose and headed into the kitchen. Just before Sol disappeared into the new room, he gave Flash a slick smile, then followed Maria in. Flash's mouth dropped; did he really just do that?

"Enjoy your drink," Sol smiled acidly at him then turned and left.

Flash blinked in disbelief, "Why that motherf--"

* * *

After the sun had gone down, Shadow stood outside admiring the beautiful view over the ocean. The others were inside playing bingo, or some other childish game. The ultimate life form was outside, meditating on his thoughts. His _ultimate_ thoughts. 

He heard the light creaking of the door behind and knew he wasn't alone anymore. He didn't mind the extra company until the person stood right beside him.

Shadow glanced to the ground to see Sunny looking back up at him. Just as he was about to say something to the girl, she spoke, "Shadow!"

Sunny suddenly rushed forward and embraced Shadow in a hug, startling him. Shadow looked at her curiously as Sunny moved away from him embarrassedly.

Her face was a bright scarlet and her cheeks were puffed; it looked like she was either frustrated, or trying to throw a tantrum. "I have no idea how to say this to you but…"

If possible her face exploded into an even brighter shade of red, "…I think I love you."

Shadow felt the uncontrollable urge of laughter rising. The little girl had just made a love confession to her uncle Shadow! It was almost as adorable as the time some years ago when Maria asked Sonic to marry her.

The young Maria had bought him a ring from a twenty-five cent vending machine and presented it to him. Shadow held back his laughter and merely smiled, "And I love you too Sunny."

At first the girl's silver eyes lit up but then she looked to the floor dejectedly, "Yet somehow, I don't think you share my feelings."

"But I do love you," Shadow poked her nose lightly and Sunny looked up, "As your uncle, I watched you grow up from day one. I carried you around in my arms when you were really little."

Sunny shook her head, "So you don't return my feelings then. I knew it…things never work out for me."

Shadow took a knee, "Don't talk like that. What's the matter?"

"Why…" she looked up at him with platinum eyes shinning with anger and confusion, "Why don't you like me back? You're the only boy I love and can have intelligent conversations with. You're special and handsome."

Shadow gave a beam; well that was a nice little ego boost, "Well, thank you."

Sunny glared at him, "Answer me."

"That's just it Sun, even as mature as you are, you're still a little girl."

Sunny looked down with a frown, "So what?"

"'So what'? Well, _sometimes_ when I talk to you, you can fool me into thinking you're an adult but there's times like these when you show your true colors."

Sunny glared at the floor angrily. Shadow laughed then turned her face towards himself, "Someday you'll find a boy your own age you'll really like, and he'll like you back. And Scythe will want to kick his as--butt. A girl as pretty as you are won't have problems getting a boy to like her."

"I'm not pretty."

Shadow arched an eyebrow, "And who lied and said that?"

"Well, none of the boys in my class like me. They all think I'm weird because they say I'm quiet," Sunny looked away, and crossed her arms, "…Well, if they were smarter I'd talk to them. Why waste my breath on boneheads?"

Shadow burst out laughing again, earning an actual smile from the taciturn girl.

"They're too afraid to talk to you right now," Shadow smiled, "Trust me, over time you'll notice much more attention."

Sunny sighed and look up at him, "…Really?"

Shadow moved her bangs out of her face so he could look at both silver eyes, "Really."

Shadow put a hand on her shoulder as they both started walking about toward the echidnas' place. The lights from the house stuck out vividly against the darkening night sky. Sunny looked up at her love interest with her round, childish eyes.

"So, there's no chance for us then?" Sunny asked lightly and as expected, Shadow shook his head with a smile, "So…you talk about me finding a boy, but will you ever find another lady to love?"

Shadow's smile faded slightly, "…No, I think that chapter in my life's done."

"But what about Maria?" Sunny asked, "Doesn't she want another mother?"

"You know, I asked her that when she was little," Shadow replied, "And even now, she leaves that decision up to me."

They finally stopped walking when the glowing candlelight of the house reached them. Sunny stared at the house momentarily, then looked back at Shadow, "You know at first I was afraid of your rejection but now I do actually feel much better. I know it's a little farfetched but maybe when I grow up someday you'll return my feelings."

Shadow laughed lightly, "…Regardless, I'll always be here for you."

Slowly Sunny hugged Shadow then turned to walk into the house, "Coming in? Mom said she was making hot cocoa."

He shook his head and Scythe appeared. He wore a playful angry-face, "What? Is my wife's hot cocoa not good enough for you!?"

Shadow smirked as Scythe spoke to his daughter, "Come on squirt, your mom can't cook to save her life but she sure can make a good cup of cocoa."

The black and red antihero watched as Scythe slid the door closed behind her. Before the door closed Sunny flashed a warm smile at him. Shadow turned his back and took a few steps away from the door span.

The stars were twinkling like small white diamonds in the black blanket of sky. Shadow's silent contemplation was disturbed when a hand set on his shoulder, "Well, I think you dealt with that very well."

Shadow glanced over his shoulder briefly, then looked back at where Sunny had been seconds ago, "Thanks mom."

Sonic appeared beside Shadow with a smile, "Why don't you join me at looking at the sea?"

As Shadow followed the blue hedgehog, he gazed at him momentarily, "Shouldn't this be something you do with Amy?"

"We've looked at this sea _so_ many times already," Sonic sighed, "But anyways, you're the focus of this conversation. Sunshine did bring up a valid point in her love confession."

"What? That I'm special. I agree."

"I meant about the whole getting another woman thing."

"Oh."

Sonic's customary smile faded, "You know Shad, maybe it is time for you to find yourself another woman."

Shadow suddenly looked off into the sky, finding the spot where the horizon and the sea met, "I know you love Rouge deeply but I think its time you rested those feelings. I know plenty of women interested in you Shad and some of them would make a good wife for you and a good mother for Maria."

"…Sonic," Shadow started in a murmur.

Sonic was intent on finishing, "I respect that your love for batgirl runs deeply, but I don't want to see the look on your face I see whenever you see a happy couple together. Or when you see Amy or me celebrating our anniversary. At first it was really obvious on your face but now, over these past eighteen years you've gotten good at hiding it. But that sad, sorrowful look still lingers on your face."

Shadow looked up at Sonic and he saw that the blue hedgehog's stern face changed slightly, "That's the exact look I'm talking about. Both nostalgic and mournful at the exact same time."

Shadow found that his mouth had become dry in Sonic's lecture but he managed to speak even with his voice weakening, "Sonic, I can't look at another woman the same way I did with Rouge. When I loved her I fell hard. I loved her with all my heart. I truly did. I still do."

Sonic looked at him sympathetically as Shadow's voice began to tremble, although he himself was not aware of it, "And now there's nothing left for anyone else. I'm completely wiped out."

"Oh yeah and what about Selene?"

"…Selene…"

Shadow still held his gaze away from Sonic's lingering glare and it was indeed true. Over the years plenty of eligible women had openly expressed their interest in him, only Shadow had responded lukewarm at best by acting uninterested or better yet pretending that their advances hadn't even happened.

One instant, Sonic had thought that a knock-out named Selene would be the girl to break Shadow's loveless spell. The hedgehog girl was a fuchsia-furred belle with a bubbly, yet demure personality.

She was by far modest enough to meet Shadow's picky standards but the best feature of Selene were her gorgeous eyes that were assured to captivate any guy; one eye was an incredible sky-blue and the other was a deep, ocean blue with green speckles.

One rainy afternoon when Selene, as shy as she was, had admitted her strong feelings toward Shadow, Sonic thought that his dark counterpart would meet her receptively.

However, Shadow had told her solemnly and in a stony manner that he harbored no feelings for her whatsoever. He also went as far as saying that she was foolish for thinking that he felt the same way. Even to this day, Sonic could still remember her heartbroken weeping.

Sonic grabbed Shadow by the shoulders and turned him so that he could look him dead even in the eyes, "She was…_is_ the one! And then you had to chase her off for no reason! None! Shad, twenty years from now when Maria is married and has kids of her own to watch over, what are you going to be doing? She'll have her own life and you'll be stuck with nothing. Don't do that to yourself."

Shadow swept Sonic's hands off of him and looked at him squarely, "All your points you make are valid faker but if I chose to be alone, then be okay with that knowing it is by my freewill."

Sonic shook his head and stared at the ground angrily. The blue hero seemed to finally realize that he couldn't penetrate the barrier Shadow had put up. His counterpart had made it clear that he wasn't changing his mind come Hell or high water.

In a gesture of building anger, frustration, and defeat, Sonic crunched his fists into tight balls, "Well that's fine and all…If you decide to mope around by yourself…But if you _ever_ make my sister cry like that again, I'll mess you up."

He pushed past Shadow on his way to the house and jarred the door closed with a slam. Shadow looked up into the night sky with furious, yet misty red eyes. Turmoil raged through him as he battled against his invisible demons and thousands of images raced before his eyes.

He saw Rouge's face, heard thousands of her giggles and peered into her deep blue eyes. She was a bold, strong fiery girl that loved challenges. And she made Shadow work for her heart, but when he finally won her over, it was completely worth the chase.

Then he saw her on the Sahara Dessert base floor, blood seeping around her still form as she laid dead. Even in her permanent sleep, she still managed to glow with beauty.

Then his thoughts brought him to another lovely face, that of a girl hedgehog with two very different colored, yet beautiful eyes. She was beautiful to the point where she could have been vain but she was demure as could be.

She was almost the white bat's inverse, reserved, quiet and very thoughtful. He remembered the first time he saw her, walking down the road with her nose in a book and if he remembered correctly, she had always been bookish.

Clumsily she seemed to have tripped over herself and with his quick reflexes, Shadow caught her crisply so that she spilled perfectly into his arms. They caught eyes for awhile before Shadow noticed her two brilliant irises and faintly, how cute the girl was.

Then he remembered the day he broke her heart. Months and months after finally overcoming their own personal barriers; Selene's coyness and Shadow's great reluctance to even try to associate himself with someone else of the opposite gender, they seemed to have finally accept that something might actually existent between each other.

One day at Shadow's favorite teashop, Selene had walked in with a small smile and took her seat at his table. It had taken months alone for him to have invited to his table. With great courage, when she spoke her heart, at first Shadow felt a strong happiness, liberation, as if he had been waiting for someone to make him feel the way she did and possibly be the one to come into his life and remove that layer of iciness from his heart.

Then he also recalled that he felt a surge of aversion and apathy, one that made him feel amazed at how stupid the girl was for possibly thinking that she could trick him into love by a brainless, pointless heart to heart.

The girl had smiled, as if thinking that he would just jump into her arms and hold her, like the way lovesick couples did in the romantic, mushy mindless novels she read. Shadow remembered with a strikingly great clarity of exactly what he said, and how he said it.

In fact, he could recall the complete scene; he had slammed his book down on the table, causing the poor girl to jump and looked up at her in a mixture of disgust and contempt, so much so that his face had taken on a slight sneer.

"_And what the hell am I supposed to do now? Whip out a marriage ring and marry you on the spot_? _How dare you; who do you think you are, to impose these fairytale like feelings upon me? You're nothing more than a silly girl with asinine feelings. And since you read so many damn books, you'll know exactly what that word means." _

His own ruthless words sunk in. He winced as he replayed the hurt look on the girl's face as she turned and tore out of the shop leaving behind a book she had bought for him that day.

Slowly, Shadow opened his eyes, and just as suddenly, he dropped to his knees. He looked to the stars with a face full of sorrow and he spoke to one of the few things he believed in, "…Rouge, I'm so confused. What am I to do? What do you expect of me?"

* * *

**-To be Continued!**

**(Next time Sol begins his trial to earn his rights as the Guardian of the Master Emerald!! Be prepared for more chaos, visions, and feuds!) **


	5. Tenkuuha

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:**

Epilogue

By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Yeppers, so here's a fresh, hot chapter! Enjoy. Oh and one last thing, when the echidnas are speaking _"Like so" _they're saying stuff in their ancient dialect. Well, without further ado, have at it.

- "Ultrra"-Talking

-' _Shaddow_' –Thinking

-"_Rocks_"- Echidna-nese

-Well, before I become more conceited, here ya go.

_--- _

_"Ti, what's wrong, and please don't lie to me, I've had a bad night in card games: Scythe waxed my ass in poker, no one could beat Shadow at speed, Tails took no prisoners in go fish, and I just got my ass kicked in twenty-one by Amy. Don't make my night any worse." _

---

**-Epilogue-**

_Tenkuuha_: "Heavenly Mandate"

_A bright, blaring purple light roused Maria from her sleep. Slowly the girl rose from her spot as her eyes fluttered open. Maria frowned slightly as she brought herself to stand; well, this wasn't the place she had fallen asleep at. _

_The sky above her head was painted a shade of violet, nearly mirroring the color of her eyes and the waist-high grass was snow-white, like her fur. Maria hiked an eyebrow; okay this was pretty weird. This was one of those dreams where you actually knew you were dreaming. _

_So deciding to play along, Maria began to stroll through the grass. As she passed through the white meadow, she ran her fingers through the tall tufts of grass. _

_She only stopped moving when a distant figure caught her attention. Maria raised both eyebrows as she saw approaching figure beginning to materialize before her eyes, "…Flash?" _

_And low and behold, it was the blue hedgehog. Looking no less than prince Charming himself, Flash strolled toward her with one of his usual large smiles present. _

_She was partially surprised to see him wearing a complete set of white armor. Behind him a red cape trailed him heroically. Maria gagged and covered her mouth in an attempt to stomach her rising laughter; look at him! He looked ridiculous! _

_But as Maria was Maria, and she wouldn't let that go, even if this was dream world, "…What the hell is that Flashy!? Did Halloween come by early this year? I mean who do you think you are? A knight in shinning armor? And that red cape!? You look so…" _

_Smiling, he continued approaching, "So…" _

_He was a few feet from her now, "So…" _

_Her laughter was beginning to fade as a new emotion began to set forth. This time she really looked at her best friend; the white armor made him look pure, and it made him seem to glow with an angelic light. The long crimson cape behind him proclaimed his valor, his strength. _

_"…Hot," she gasped out, blushing at her confession. _

_Flash's smile grew; while he was a masterful warrior who would slay any fierce foe that opposed him, he wouldn't present Maria with his war scowls or the terrible end of his sword, but he would give her whatever that strong emotion was dancing in the irises of his green eyes. _

_The soft smile of his face promised warmth; he may have been a solider but he came before her as an aficionado. _

_'Oh jeez, I just freakin' confessed that I'm attracted to the big guy!' Maria thought as she swallowed air apprehensively. _

_"Yeah you did." Maria's lilac eyes widened, "Did…did you just read my mind?!" _

_Maria grabbed her hair frantically, fearing what she believed to be true, "Can you hear my thoughts!?" _

_A slightly dark smile answered Maria's inquiry. In a matter of seconds, Maria's completion went tomato, "WHAT GIVES!? This isn't a dream! IT'S A NIGHTMARE!" _

_"Oh and by the way," the knight in smiling armor said with a smug smile, "I know of all those other thoughts you have about me as well." _

_"YAACK!" Maria stepped away from him, waving her arms in the air frantically, "W-wait a minute! I can explain! It's not what it seems!" _

_"What's there to explain? I_ like_ those thoughts." Gulping, Maria took a step away from Flash to preserve the space between them, but in response, he took a step forward. _

_She blinked, then took another step backwards and Flash rewarded her with another step forward. They continued this process until Maria finally stopped and glared at the smirking knight, "Hey! Stop that!" _

_Smirking, Flash opened his mouth to speak but then stopped. For the first time he removed his jade eyes off of Maria. She arched an eyebrow; was he growling? _

_Maria followed his gaze and spun around and…almost toppled over from the sight. Another figure was approaching, but right off the bat she could tell that the newcomer was swathed in ebony. _

_"S-SOL!?" Maria bellowed, her eyes growing to the size of saucers. Yes, as Flash had entered from the east, he came from the west. Where Flash had been shrouded in white armor, he was indeed armed with black. And the flowing cape behind him was azure like a healthy ocean. _

_Maria's jaw dropped as both of her hands kneaded their way into her hair, "…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" _

_"Surprised? Or delighted?" Sol replied with a soft smile. This caused the white bat to frown, "Let me guess, you can read my mind too? Damn, does everyone in this freakin' dream world have access to my thoughts!?" _

_The ivory heroic figure beside her brought Maria out of her musing, "…It's him." Maria snapped around to look at Flash, "…Huh?" _

_A gaze of fury swept over prince charming's previously cool features, and before Maria could react, he stepped in front of her protectively. He was shielding her from the eyes of the ebon knight. _

_"Flash? Hey! What are you doing!?" Maria poked her head out around Flash's taller frame to glance at Sol; the echidna's aqua eyes froze over viciously. _

_"You…" while Sol's voice hadn't had all the vigor of Flash's retaliation, his statement held the same amount of contempt behind it. _

_In one fluid motion, Sol reached over his back and pulled a sword from its hilt. Maria gasped, "Sol! What are you doing!? Put that away now! Flash, please try to make him understand!" _

_When Maria brought those lively fuchsia eyes to Flash, he too had his weapon drawn. Maria went to reach out to stop him but by the time her hand found his crimson cloak, it went right through her fingers. _

_Flash had charged at Sol as the echidna charged him! In a matter of seconds, they were at each other's throats, fighting in the hardest and dirtiest ways possible. Swords sheared, tore, and broke flesh, fists crunched faces and bones, and kicks rattled organs. _

_Maria screamed in terror, "Stop it!" _

_But they continued fighting, with the pearly-white grass starting to turn crimson. Maria charged toward them now frantically, "Stop it! Stop it now!" _

_Tears cascaded down her face as their fight became more brutal; why were they fighting like this? She'd rather take a sword through her sternum than see this ghastly display! Anything! These were best friends since the day they both knew how to walk and talk! _

_The white field continued to dribble red and Maria cried out, tossing herself straight through the center of their feud… _

---

With a snort, the white bat woke with a start. She had accidentally fallen asleep in the upstairs bathroom as she had waited for the boys to change for bed. Maria had simply rested her chin on the countertop of the wash bin and fallen asleep.

When she woke up, she accidentally slammed her head against the porcelain surface; no nice word would come from this.

"Shit!" she cried, raising a hand to her head; why did she have to be such a klutz? She growled as she yanked the door open and stormed to Sol's room.

Uncle Sonic happened to pass her on the fly and patted her head, "Ya got a big spot on your head, superstar."

"Oh, I know! I know!" she grimaced. Maria entered the bedroom dressed in a white tank top and baby blue pajama pants. There she saw both Flash and Sol in harmony; she frowned, that dream was stupid.

On the floor she found Sol curled up in their pallet already; it looked as if the big guy was down for the count.

Sonic's near clone was sitting at the aforementioned echidna's desk, bobbing and moving his head to the tunes of his ipod. With his eyes closed, he played the air guitar to the beat.

The ivory bat smirked at the sight and approached the musician hedgehog. She jerked his headphones away and almost caused him to fall backwards in his seat, "Hey Slash, Guns 'n' Roses can wait. Sol's tryin' to sleep. You can strum the guitar later. It's bedtime."

Flash gazed up at her and smiled sheepishly, "Oh, sorry. I forgot." Maria nestled her way into the pallet of blankets. In a matter of seconds the lights dimmed and she felt Flash's weight beside her. Maria blinked, being sandwiched in between the two boys.

Just as Maria felt her vision diminishing to sleep, her eyes shot open. Someone from behind had wrapped their arms around her. She could see Sol's dark red form in front of her, so common sense told her that it was Flash.

"Flash?" Maria asked softly.

"Goodnight Maria," he mumbled with sleep already blurring his speech. The white bat turned to look at her friend. The night colored his normal cerulean fur a shade of violet.

Although he had his eyes closed, a small smirk loomed on his face. He wrapped his arms around Maria and brought her close to him.

Maria gasped as she was now comfortably rested against Flash. She swore that she saw his half-grin grow, "What?" he whispered smoothly, "You know you like it."

The girl closed her eyes; through his shirt she could smell his pleasant, light cologne. She wondered if he wore one of those girl-crazy scents like the Axe, Tag, or Bodman. She breathed him in and smiled, coiling deeper into his arms, "Maybe…"

---

"…Damn, that was by far one of the weirdest dreams I've had yet." The heir of the Master Emerald stood, overlooking the dark ocean. Sol had gotten out of bed before dawn, when it was completely dark outside.

The guardian to-be groaned as he massaged his temples with thumbs; he had awakened from the strangest dream where he had found himself in a white-fielded meadow dressed up as some kind of knight.

While his dream had skewed his thoughts, he decided that a breath of cool morning air would set his head on straight. In a few hours he would be starting his ritual as a guardian. That single word broke his thoughts: guardian. In mere hours he was going to see if he had what it took to become the guardian of the Master Emerald.

What if he failed? Then what? All the training his parents put him through would be all for nothing. Sol could recall a couple of times Knuckles had him stories of other guardians who had failed and most of them chose death or over failure. _Death before dishonor. _If he, Sol Pachamac Echidna, failed would he choose death? Sol's spine went cold at the thought of failure.

_'No, I can't have such weak thoughts. Thinking of weakness is what brings it. I am more than ready for this. Whatever I am faced with, I shall defeat.' _

Thanks to his heightened guardian senses, Sol sensed a newcomer. He glimpsed over his shoulder then looked forward. It was Miss Maria who came to stand by his side. She smiled at him, "Look, I'm decked out in all red today. I'm wearing your colors!"

Indeed she was; a comfy, scarlet sweat suit hugged her curves nicely. Somehow the suit managed to show off her nice, toned figure while veiling her modestly. It was more flattering than revealing. She looked up at him, "Nervous?"

"Terribly so." This was Maria he was talking to; he didn't have to hide anything. Smiling, the girl placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sol, you're going to do great. So don't worry about it, okay?" She took his hand and smiled. Just when Sol turned to gaze at the ocean, Maria leaned over his shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He spun to face her, eyes wide from surprise. The guardian held his face with his hand as Maria ran off laughing. "You'll do fine Sol!" Maria called out, with the sun highlighting her jovial face perfectly, "Go get 'em tiger!"

Sol watched Maria scamper off merrily. He looked at his hand, then back at the fleeing girl. Was his face burning? It certainly felt that way…

---

"Come on Sonic, we're nearly there."

"Damnit, this is Sol's trial, so why do _I_ have to wake up at the crack of dawn!?" Being tugged on the arm by both Amy and Flash, the blue wonder made is way toward Master Emerald shrine.

"See, we're here Sonic, so stop complaining!" Amy growled.

"Hey, why is everyone all on my jock!? _Shadow_ was the one who tried to attack us with the pillows 'cause he didn't want to get up."

"He used pillows," Amy growled.

"Well, in the arms of a master, anything can be used as a lethal weapon." Sonic countered. The Hedgehogs finally pulled to a stop as they halted before the grand stairway. Sunny blinked then pointed up ahead, "Look, the sun's aligned right on top of shrine!"

"You think the echidnas did that purposefully?" Flash asked thoughtfully.

Amy smiled, "Of course."

"Damn those architects were good," Scythe said appreciatively.

Everyone had congregated before the sunlit Master Emerald shrine. Although the tall structure was broken and covered with moss, it still stood even after weathering the centuries. Tikal peered up at the tall, spiraling staircase that led to the emerald's podium.

She remembered when this place, this structure had looked nearly new; white stones clean and unbroken; why, she even remembered when a river used to circle the shrine. Time had punished this place quite well. Nevertheless, it still existed.

That thought brought a smile to Tikal's face. Today the princess was wearing a long blue robe as Knuckles, who was wearing a red one, stepped into view. He looked at her with those soft, purple eyes, "Ready?"

"Yes…"

"Then let's get ready to make our boy a legend."

Together both Knuckles and Tikal spun to face Sol. Both of their faces were held in an emotionless state. Sol inhaled inaudibly; so this was it, the beginning of the end. Knuckles raised his left hand, "I am the north and I am east. I am the sky and I am day. I am fire. I walk the path of brilliance and surely, you have passed my trials."

Eyes turned to Tikal as she raised her right hand, "I am south and I am west. I am earth and I am night. I am water. I walk the path of brillance and surely, you have passed my trial."

Slowly, Knuckles removed the bright red robe he was wearing and as he did so, Amy arched an eyebrow at the sight of his flexing muscles. Sonic noticed Amy's smile and crossed his arms; his foot tapped the floor sporadically. And just_ what_ was impressive about that? It wasn't as if Knuckles had anything that he didn't!

Tikal removed the blue robe she was wearing and put it neatly on the floor. Now both Knuckles and Tikal were wearing white robes. They both pointed to the ground simultaneously, "Do you wish to walk the path of brilliance?"

"Yes."

"Then clothe yourself."

After bowing to both Knuckles and Tikal, he would have failed automatically if he didn't, he pulled the robes on. First he put on the red robe and then the blue. Putting them on in the wrong order, or disrespectfully would have cost him his guardianship. Once he was done, he looked into the stolid eyes of his parents; no they weren't his parents right now, he was looking at two accomplished guardians who were testing him.

They incited a passage simultaneously, speaking with one clear voice, "We as the guardians of the Master Emerald have found you worthy. You have passed our trials and now it is time for you to take your place as the Emerald's protector. Do you accept your responsibilities?"

Sol didn't blink, "Yes."

"Then ascend and take the throne."

Sol turned on his heel and headed up the upstairs slowly. The by standers watched with great awe as Sol slowly ascended the stairs. Maria stood in the midst of the crowd, standing beside her father and Flash. She had noticed Sol's normally cool face looked firm, as if he was walking into war. Just like the ebon knight in her dreams.

As Sol made his way up the stairs, the Master Emerald came into view, as well as the outlook over the sea. It was the place where the sky met the sea. Seconds later, Knuckles and Tikal appeared beside him. Sol detected several other approaching footsteps and assumed that his friends were also climbing the stairs as well.

"You have passed our trials, wandering youth," Knuckles replied with a dead tone, "And yet you have one more trial to fulfill before you can accept the powers of the Master Emerald and walk the path of brilliance"

Tikal turned and looked at Sol; aquamarine eyes met aquamarine, "Summon guardian. Summon your ancestor, the one who shall judge your power."

"I shall."

With Sol's gentle touch, the emerald began to glow brighter. The guardian to-be took a few steps back to fall in line with his parents. The humming, radiating light cooled a few moments later. Along with the fading light, a small, short, orange echidna stood before them.

"We relinquish our power," both Knuckles and Tikal replied, both bowing together. Sonic smirked; man, they were together on everything! They must have worked this number to the bone to get it down this good!

The newcomer was a small, old, echidna woman dressed in long deep green robes and a shawl. Her quills, decorated with multiple red, green, and white beads and feathers, were almost twice as long as her height.

They trailed behind her a by at least a couple of feet. The orange echidna looked to have been at least twice the age of Knuckles or Sonic; she looked to have been enjoying her years as a senior for awhile now. Tikal stepped forward with a smile and looked at her. The others noted that she spoke in her echidna tongue, "_Salutations grandmother_."

Shadow glanced at the echidna princess; so with that relinquishing thing, it was okay now for Knuckles and Tikal to be themselves and show emotion. The elder echidna turned to look at Tikal with bright turquoise eyes, "_Hello my daughter. How have things been going for you_?"

They both bowed to each other, with Tikal showing far greater respect by bowing deeper and longer. She then walked over and hugged the small, shriveled echidna. Tikal had to bend over greatly to compensate her diminutive stature.

The princess moved away from the echidna elder so she could get a look at the others. Sonic turned to Knuckles who seemed to be lukewarm during the reception, "Hey Knux, don't you know her?"

"Yep."

"Well, why don't you haul ass and go to her?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, "…You'll see…"

The orange echidna turned to face the others, and her bright turquoise eyes fell upon the red guardian. Both Knuckles and the old woman seemed to stare at each intensely, unblinking. Then the old woman smiled, "_Well, well, well, if it isn't bighead! How have things been for you, boy?" _

Knuckles blanched as the old echidna burst out into a raspy laughter. The others looked at each other in confusion as Sol blinked back at the old one silently. Frowning, Amy turned to look at Shadow, "What is she saying?"

Shadow shrugged, "I can't understand her."

Knuckles replied as if he didn't hear the others and he decided to reply in perfect English for the others, "Hello Meda, it's good to see you too."

"_Grandmother_," Tikal smiled, "_This is my husband, you know Knuckles…_"

The old echidna turned to meet Knuckles' cool stare. She suddenly looked at him with a smile and a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "_Is that so?_ _So after all these years of chasing my granddaughter, ya finally got her, eh? It took you long enough boy! With her being celibate all these years I know you've been wanting to jump my pretty granddaughter at the first chance, eh?" _

Tikal blushed as Knuckles closed his eyes in silence defiance, arousing another wet laughter from the old one. Meda took her walking stick and shook it at him, "_So tell me daughter, does he make you happy? Or does he tucker out quickly!?" _

"_Grandmother_!" Tikal cried out, "_Please!! Not in front of Sol_!"

"_Sol? Who is this Sol? I do not remember one by that name_."

The old one looked passed Knuckles and saw what looked to be his clone. With slow, small steps, the old echidna hobbled her way to Sol. She stood before him, taking him in with great interest.

She stared at the future guardian keenly, quickly noticing his bright turquoise eyes they both shared. She smiled; even through all these years, she could still see herself in her grandson. The bright aquamarine eyes had been a trait brought from her lineage.

"_My, has it really been that long? My dearest Tikal has borne a male child?" _

"_Salutations, great grandmother_," Sol began in a respectful voice, " _I am Sol, the next guardian of the Master Emerald_."

Meda's eyes seemed to glow with pleasure at the sight her youngest descendant, "_I knew my beloved Tikal, when time came for her to bear a child, would raise such a wonderful soul._"

The echidna raised her hand and held Sol's face. She smiled at him, "_You look just like your father and yet you are graced with your mother's delicate features: beautiful eyes and a gentle smile. You have the eyes of your grandmother, you know that child?_"

Meda stepped back and smiled, _"My great grandson, goodness I'm getting old!"_ Tikal chuckled,_ "Grandmother, having a millennium and a half under your belt isn't too bad!" _

_"No, you're old,"_ this time Knuckles said his sentence in the echidna tongue especially for the old orange echidna to hear.

Meda smiled back at him, "_Strong words… from a boy who wears his quills longer than a girl's!!"_

The old woman exchanged glances with Tikal before she looked back at the scowling Knuckles, "_…Why did you choose to marry this one, dear? He's an odd one. Sure he's nice to look at, but he's a little light in the head; weird." _

Knuckles gritted his teeth as Tikal pointed to the others, "_Grandmother,_ _let's speak_ _so they can understand what we're saying. They do not know our tongue, only you, Sol, and Knuckles understand. We must speak their tongue so our friends can know what we say." _

Tikal turned to look at the others, "Friends, I would like to introduce to you my grandmother, Meda. In her youth, she was one of the greatest and most powerful guardians to ever serve the Master Emerald."

Sonic's blank expression brightened; finally, he could understand someone beside Knuckles. With the red echidna being the only one to reply in their language, Sonic had felt that they were only getting the grunt end of their conversation.

The blue hero stepped forward, already making his way to meet the small echidna, "Hello there Meda, my name's Sonic." The orange echidna looked up at him and replied in their familiar, yet broken dialect, "You hedgehog?" Although she didn't take his hand, Sonic still left it out for a handshake, "Yep."

Meda looked at his hand then back up at him skeptically as if he was an idiot. She crossed her arms and stared at him wordlessly, gauging him. With each passing second, Sonic began to feel more awkward, "Umm…"

Knuckles watched wordlessly in slight amusement knowing all too well what Sonic's mistakes were. The blue hedgehog looked between both him and Tikal in a plead for help. Tikal stepped in to save him, "Sonic, bowing is the correct way to address her."

"Oh right, right…"

Sonic bowed, raising a quick wave of laughter from Knuckles. Sonic looked over at his red friend and glared, "And just what is _so _funny Knux?!" Meda looked at Tikal, then back at Sonic, "This Hedgehog is kind of idiot."

The azure hero blinked, still in bowing position, "Huh!?" A large grin grew on Knuckles' smug face, "With elders you bow deeper, the bow you gave was the equivalence of bowing to a kindergartener."

Sonic quickly popped up, towering over the small echidna once more. Meda looked at him slightly amused, "Hedgehogs not too smart, even when I young. All very fast, yet all still idiot."

Amy glared as a sizable vein peered on her pink head, "Hey! And just what is that supposed to mean!?" Meda raised both eyebrows, looking at her incredulously, "And you _still_ ask meaning of words? See how slow hedgehogs are?"

With a huff, Amy turned on her heel, now facing Shadow and Sonic, "Are you guys just gonna sit here and take that!?"

"She may be old," Shadow replied, "But she's exceeding powerful." Daisy looked at him skeptically, "Too bad she looks about twelve centuries old!"

"Perhaps…" Shadow shrugged, "but that old echidna has much power. Don't you sense it?"

Scythe looked back at the old echidna and narrowed his eyes; Shadow, as wussy as he was acting at the moment, did have a point. There was something odd about that old, wrinkly echidna. There was no way someone in their right mind would mock someone much more powerful than them self.

"So what is that Shad?" Sonic asked, "Your rationalization for taking crap off of her?"

Shadow looked at Sonic coolly, "Why should you care what she thinks? In your case, I think she's right; you are an idiot Sonic." Maria walked up next to Sol, "Hey, who is the old woman insulting my dad?"

Sol looked back at her, "That's my great grandmother, Meda. I'll be fulfilling her trial for my guardianship. It's rumored that she's the best guardian of the Master Emerald."

"Of all time?"

"Supposedly."

"Whoa…"

Sol turned to face her with a confident smirk, one that Maria thought was very uncharacteristic of him, "But I plan on giving her a run for her money."

Both the echidna and the bat burst out laughing. The echidna elder turned to look at the two of them. Something about the way the two of them interacted made her fail to smile. Subconsciously, the old woman tightened her grip on her walking stick. Flash stepped beside the two and nudged him in the shoulder, "That's tellin' 'em Sol." Sol smiled back at him.

He frowned as he noticed Flash wedging himself next to Maria, furthering him from the girl. The echidna turned to look at him and caught glimpse of Flash's bright green eyes and smile. Although Flash met his gaze with a smile, behind his beam was an underlying dare or threat and the echidna swore he saw Flash's eyes narrow. Was he challenging him?

"Son-son," Meda began and Sol, as well as the others turned to look at her, "_Tomorrow morning I shall judge whether you are worthy of the Master Emerald. At dawn you shall be tested by a challenge. It shall test everything you should have learned. Are you, guardian to be, ready?" _

Sol smirked, "Yes, I am."

A loud cheer broke out in the air and soon, the son of Knuckles found himself squished in the middle of a ring of his cheering friends. Vaguely, he felt Flash pounding him, and rather painfully on his back good-humoredly as Maria yammered away a mile a minute. Sol couldn't understand a single word she was saying, but he didn't mind too much; the sight of her appealing, smiling face was enough.

* * *

"Aww snap! It's time to bust out the good food!"-Sonic

"Hell, I can get used to this!"-Scythe

"Who wants to get their ass kicked in poker?"-Shadow

"I'll help cook!"-Daisy

"NO!"-Everyone

It was the day before. Another grand feast was being thrown, this time in Sol's honor and in welcoming of the great ancestor. Tikal waited in the house as her delicious stew boiled. Knuckles had requested that his wife cook, then the others joined in on the rally and Tikal had submitted.

The front door creaked open as Meda slowly inched her way in. Her walking staff thumped the door with each passing step she took. Tikal looked over to the old woman and smiled, "_Honor, grandmother_."

"_Hello dear. My, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were making red sauce soup_."

"_Well, it is your favorite grandmother_."

"_I only love it when you make it. Why I remember when your father tried his hand at it. Bah! Terrible! Even our servants could not make it half as well as you do." _

Tikal smiled at the flattery and continued to stir the broiling brew. Meda inched her way to the table and sat, gazing keenly at her granddaughter. As a new thought occurred to the old timer, her smile disappeared.

"_Who is that bat woman_?" Meda asked.

"_Who_?"

"_The one girl that hangs around my great grandson all the time_."

"_She is Shadow's daughter_."

"_I do not know Shadow_."

"_Oh, he's the black and red hedgehog_."

The orange echidna ran an image of the dark hedgehog through her mind. Somehow she couldn't understand how a hedgehog could sire a bat. This didn't make sense to her, "_How can a hedgehog have a bat for a child_?"

"_Well, his wife was a bat_," Tikal replied, continuing to cook.

Meda's mouth shifted into a frown; so the girl was already a half-breed. This did not add up very well, "_And what are her intentions with my great grandson_? _It seems as if the bat woman and my great grandson have a certain fondness between them._"

Tikal looked up thoughtfully before she looked back at the echidna elder, "I believe so and it's a good thing. Sol's such a quiet being, and I believe she brings out the best in him."

"_I'm not too fond of her." _Meda replied acidly, "_We cannot have the following heir to the Master Emerald with half echidna blood. It's revolting_. _Can you image that? A half echidna, half bat half hedgehog youngling? Or whatever she is. An impure blood. Our ancestors would roll in their graves." _

The echidna princess stopped and looked up at her grandmother, "_She's a good girl Meda, and she was raised exceptionally. I would be honored to have her as a daughter_."

Meda threw her hands in the air, "_Regardless of the girl being good or not. She still won't bear an heir worthy of the Master Emerald. Why, what if the girl bore a bat? Or a hedgehog? Surely, I would die_. _The echidna race would no longer be the protectors of the Master Emerald! How shameful_! "

Tikal slammed the lid over the stewing broth angrily. She turned to face her grandmother with a stern gaze, "_Grandmother, my love and honor for you is endless but listen. Sol is free to choose who he sees fit as his wife, and if he wants to love Maria then so be it. No one will deter their love for each other simply because she is a bat, even you_. _He shall marry who he pleases_."

The two of them stared at each other in tense silence before Meda finally spoke, in clear English, "Maybe, but not the bat." Meda walked past her granddaughter and walked out into the meadow. Tikal stirred the spoon with a venomous expression upon her face, nearly burning herself at least twice.

---

She found the white bat a few yards away, staring off into the ocean appreciatively. The old echidna hobbled over to the young bat and took a place by her side. Meda glanced up at Maria then gazed off into the sea, "I notice you like spend time with my son-son."

Maria blinked, realizing that she was referring to Sol. The white bat looked down at the old echidna, "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Feelings deep for him, white bat?" Suddenly Maria found herself turning a near color of the sunset sky, "Er…well…it's hard to say." Maria laughed uneasily and just when she thought she was going to have amiable conversation with the old guardian, Meda's walking stick found its way to her neck.

She had the staff positioned at an angle to give the girl no pain and yet pressed firm enough so that Maria felt it. The old echidna was glaring at her with bright turquoise eyes, "Stay away from my son-son; don't need white bat to mess up perfect blood."

It took Maria a few seconds to decipher her words, but when she did, the girl glared back at the small echidna, "Is that so? Listen, I can like whoever I want."

"All man but my son-son."

"Meda," Maria stated with a soft, yet firm tone, "I respect the stature that your age brings and all, but that doesn't give you the right to tell me who I can and can't like."

"Sol is my son-son. That is what gives me right. I warn you, chase son-son no more." The echidna pressed the wooden staff further into the girl's clavicle. Maria narrowed her eyes and moved as if to strike back.

However, when Maria reached out at the echidna, Meda dodged swiftly and sent the girl to the floor with a single blow from her staff. Maria landed with a thump, having the wind knocked from out of her. When Maria finally gazed skyward, she saw the echidna brandishing the staff at her again; this time Meda found it appropriate to narrow her eyes, "You. Stay away from son-son."

The old echidna turned away and headed back toward the house. Maria slowly sat up and glared at the retreating form of the elder. When she was sure Meda wasn't returning, she raised one of her pant legs to find a bruise on her calf. It was the place where the elder had struck her. Maria glared back at the place Meda had been only seconds ago, "She's good…"

* * *

After the feast, since Sol had his biggest and final trial coming up, the house had to be good and quiet so that he could get all the rest he needed. It was late with the moon already in place and Daisy spent a part of her evening in the washroom outside of both hers and Scythe's borrowed guest room. She brushed her long quills as she stared back at her reflection. With the darkness, her normally bright lemony fur was gold.

The moon highlighted her features with silver streaks. With a sigh, she placed the brush on near the wash bin and exited the room. Scythe was reclined in his part of the bed pallet. While Daisy settled next to him he finally opened his eyes, "Well don't you look extra hot?"

Daisy giggled as she felt the sheets of the bed shift. She looked up to see Scythe lean into her, "And you smell good too."

The yellow hedgehog scooted away from him, "Scythe…"

But as usual, when something or someone repelled Scythe, he became extremely attracted. Now he began to slowly crawl towards Daisy. The silver light made his matching eyes seem to glow, "…Kinda makes me wonder, do you taste good?"

"Scythe!" Daisy hissed in a high-pitched whisper, "…We can't do this!! The others are in the next room, and Sunny is right across from us!"

"They'll forgive me…for having such a hot-ass wife!"

"Scythe--" The protest was cut off when Scythe tackled her into the bouncy comforter. Daisy peered up to see Scythe smiling devilishly at her, "Playing hard to get, huh?"

Somehow his smile became more twisted, "….I _like _that! The more you fight, I fight! And the more you struggle, it's just more fun that way!"

"Scythe…" Daisy panted in between his kisses, each word she drew out was becoming airier, "We…can't…do…oh…ooh…aww forget them!!"

They both laughed and resumed where they left off. Daisy smiled happily as Scythe traced her face with his fingers. His silver irises glowed softly as he took her in appreciatively, "Damn you're beautiful."

He leaned forward as he greeted her with another kiss, slow and unwinding. Daisy savored his deliberately slow kisses, which were somehow still full of heated passion. The thought of her normally cold husband being as soft and as playful as a puppy made her smile. "You're gorgeous…"

Daisy purred happily.

"You're breathtaking…"

She mewled softly.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

Daisy snapped her eyes opened. Above her was an orange echidna with bright, sheer golden eyes. Eyes that nearly matched her fur. He had a sinister smile and his eyes were alarmingly wide and bright, "_You're nothing! NOTHING! But mine! You will respect me! Even if I have to beat it into you_!"

The smiling echidna swung a fist that headed straight at her…

A gasp roused the yellow hedgehog as she bolted upright from the pallet of blankets. Scythe froze like a still-life at her action and glanced back at her earnestly as she was now centimeters away from his face. He stared back at her concernedly, "…Daisy?"

Her eyes held a hollow stare that worried him. He repositioned himself so that he was sitting next to her. Scythe gently touched her shoulder, "Daisy? Daisy, what's wrong?"

Was it something he did? He barely kissed the girl. And just when he was reaching out to caress her face, she shrieked. His fear began to boil over, as his mind raced fretfully; was she afraid of him? What if he had done something to rouse that scream from her and that look of terror on her face? Scythe suddenly felt extremely nauseous.

But then, Daisy huddled into Scythe and released a shaky breath; she didn't notice Sunny had awoken to her scream and was looking back at her anxiously, "I—I, I saw…" She gulped heavily and leaned into him, "…Nothing, I saw nothing…"

"Was it something I did?" his voice barely came out louder than a whisper and Daisy shook her head vigorously, "Of course not…I love you Scythe."

Relief flooded him and he held her protectively against himself, "Good, don't worry. I'm here and nothing will happen to you." Scythe looked over at Sunny who was blinking at them, "Don't worry Sun, your ma's just freakin' out a bit. Go back to sleep and get some shuteye."

With little complaint the drowsy yellow hedgehog muttered a few words, then fell back to sleep in a matter of seconds. As Daisy settled into the bed, she felt Scythe wrap a protective arm around her. She heard his deep voice in the darkness, "…Better now, beautiful?"

"Yes…" Daisy lied.

In a matter of minutes Scythe's light snores filled the room, and Daisy had managed to close her eyes. Even though his arm was around her tightly, it still didn't protect her from the orange echidna she saw when she closed her eyes. It was as if those sharp, narrow amber eyes were burned into her eyelids…

* * *

"She just has to go off to the most difficult spot to find on the island, now doesn't she!?" Knuckles pried bushes and leaves apart as he sought out his wife.

The entire day he knew something was wrong between Tikal and Meda but now something else was up. Tikal was outside in the middle of the night. And that's not all; she was at the place she always went to when something was bothering her.

With one last forceful boot, Knuckles stormed through a bush and found the lone figure of his wife. Tikal looked over at Knuckles and smiled, "Hello Knuckles, how are you?" Knuckles instantly frowned and he knew something was wrong. His Titi, no other man _alive_ was allowed to call her that, never called him Knuckles unless he was in trouble.

"Ti, what's wrong, and please don't lie to me, I've had a bad night in card games: Scythe waxed my ass in poker, no one could beat Shadow at speed, Tails took no prisoners in go fish, and I just got my ass kicked in twenty-one by Amy. Don't make my night any worse."

Despite trying to make Tikal laugh, he was surprised when he heard her groan. His smile wiped away and he approached her, "Hey, hey now. What's wrong Titi?" Tikal trembled slightly as she fell into Knuckles' grasp, "…You know that you can tell me anything Ti, that's what I'm here for. You're safe with me. Safe…"

"Safe…" Tikal repeated softly.

"Safe," Knuckles replied firmly yet softly.

"I have to tell you something…"

A thousand thoughts flew through his head; Tikal had cheated on him, Sol wasn't his son, she had killed her grandmother. But he returned to the world of the living when he asked her a question, "…Is this going to break my heart?"

The princess grinned slightly, "No."

Knuckles smirked slightly and nodded his head, "Well then, go on." Despite his cool appearance, on the inside his chibi-self was popping champagne bottles and doing the conga. Whatever she had to tell him wouldn't be so bad now!

Tikal gulped, then started talking, although her voice was quavering, she spoke through her story, "…I've never told you or anyone for that matter…but once…I was married to Chaos, back then his name was _Turrok_…"

---

_In our ancient civilization, it took a week to be completely wedded before you were officially husband and wife. I have told you about these ceremonies we perform throughout the week to prepare for marriage. _

_Celebrations and festive gatherings happen every night, gifts and offerings are given from the entire village…Although I was 'engaged' as you say, to Turrok, I never had to truly be with him our entire marriage week celebration, I wasn't his wife then. _

_Matter as fact, in secret I spent everyday with the man I wanted to marry, Valor. It was a painful experience for us both; seeing each other over the course of that week, but not being able to care for each other anymore. _

_…Father had to marry me off to Turrok as a peace proposition to protect our people from Turrok's powerful, war-hungry tribe… _

_But…after the week of a wedding announcement, husband and wife finally spent their first day with each other. And the week since our first announcement and I was terrified…I wanted Valor in place of Turrok... _

_I followed Turrok into our new sanction of the palace, and that was when it all began… _

_--_

_Trailing behind her new husband, Tikal followed the muscular, orange frame of Turrok. Each step he took had an arrogant swagger as his knee-length quills swayed with every step. _

_Finally when he came to a stop, Tikal paused and looked up. Before them was their brand new room. Turrok swung open one of the large doors easily, as if it weighed little, he smirked when he turned to face her, "Get in." _

_With a soft inhale, Tikal stepped in, only to have the doors slam roughly behind her. She looked at her room. Her new and final domain; it was a luxurious, ivory room embellished with royal furniture, and multiple marble statures. _

_Why, holding as the centerpiece, a ways from the large bed was a beautiful ivory fountain. _

_Had she had not been so terrified, she would have delighted in the fountain's majesty; the cascading water was a beautiful shade of mauve. Tikal turned quickly to see Turrok staring at her, taking in her complete form with intense, amber eyes. _

_The intensity of his stare made the princess wish she could open her mouth and scream and yet somehow, she wasn't able to. He approached her with long, slow strides as he drew closer. _

_The idea of Turrok, the violent, short-tempered, cocky warrior touching her made her skin crawl. She wished that in place of the intense, amber eyes, she saw the soft glow of Valor's earth-brown eyes. _

_He finally stopped approaching her when he was a step away from her, and she could feel his breath. The orange warrior took her face and slowly, yet painfully traced his fingers in Tikal's cheeks. _

_She tried not to wince as his nails dug into the side of her face, "So…I finally have the fine daughter of the Chief Pachamac, it was only a matter of time before you were mine, guardian of the Master Emerald…what a fine legacy I shall have! Every morning I rise and see your flawless face next to mine, but we are a fitting couple; a perfect maiden for a perfect warrior." _

_The moment she felt Turrok roughly pull her head into an impatient kiss, she clenched her eyes shut and stiffened, envisioning Valor kicking the door open, and whisking her away. _

_The more she thought of the honorable, handsome warrior, the more she began to miss him. She didn't even realize that she was crying. But it was all too much, when he reached to touch her; there was no way she could envision her Valor there. _

_Tikal__ avoided his reach and cowered away from him. Turrok stared back emotionlessly, only to find a sniffing, teary-eyed Tikal. _

_He pulled her back for a second long kiss, but this time, she turned her head from him. The orange echidna stared at her silently for awhile before he let her go altogether, "…You don't want me?" _

_Crying, Tikal shook her head. Turrok's face suddenly contorted into an unholy rage, he grabbed the princess by shoulders and slammed her into a wall. _

_She cried out as he pinned her shoulders against the wall; although she might have known the martial arts of the echidna warrior class, Turrok's pure strength ousted any chance of escape, "And who do you want, you whore!? That fool Valor!? Well you're my wife, not his! YOU'RE MY WIFE!" _

_A furious fist sent Tikal to the floor and Turrok paused, then burst out laughing, "Look at you, you pathetic woman! Where is your beloved Valor now? He cannot help you." _

_He began to approach her, as she backed away on her elbows. His amber eyes seemed to have darkened a couple of shades as his smile grew malignantly, "…I will teach you to respect me…and I will teach you to love me...you will be my wife…AND LOVE IT! Even if everyday I have to beat it into you. Everyday, when you rise you shall think of only me, and every night, when you are under me, you shall think of only me!" _

---

When Tikal had first begun her story, she seemed as if she was scared stiff but now, as she continued, she was furious. Her normally calm, turquoise eyes were seething and her voice was frosty, "And each day, living with him was hell. I was fortunate that I only had to live under him for three days, when I finally sealed the power-hungry tyrant away in the Master Emerald. But those three days were the worst of my life."

Knuckles, after hearing her tale was filled with anger, then quickly subdued as he tried to gain a grip over his building fury, "…So this…whole thing is why you hate Chaos…"

"_Turrok_," Tikal spat his name, "'Chaos' as everyone else calls him now was a terrible being; every morning he forced me to proclaim that I loved him, and at night…he never got the chance to touch me, the way you have to have brought Sol into this world. He was too busy trying to dethrone my father."

Knuckles curled his princess into a stray hug and she stiffened momentarily; surprised by her husband's spontaneous action, " Tikal, you won't have to worry about him again. Sol's going to pass all the guardian trials, even Tu—Chaos's."

"But if he fails, then Turrok--"

"Sol won't fail," Knuckles replied firmly, "I'm here for you Tikal, I won't let Chaos hurt you anymore…"

Tikal eased into Knuckles' embrace and allowed his strong arms to hold her. She fell into a deep sob as the white moon rose. Although the echidna princess cried, she felt completely safe in Knuckles' arms.

* * *

**-All I can say is read, review and next time we got a showdown!**


	6. Kuuenbu

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Yeah, I decided to update early 'cause I'm in an exceptionally good mood. I just watched my little sister go off to prom (baby girl's growin' up on me!) and don't worry, I threatened to beat her date's ass ten times over already.

-…Aaand on another note, I hope you guys already know like, but Turrok is Chaos, but back when he was an echidna: Turrok is to Chaos as Super Sonic is to Sonic. They're the same dude. :)

---

_Maria blinked as Amy freaked, "Yeek! That's Chaos!? The guy Sonic fought against all those years ago!?"_

_"And I beat that ass!" Sonic looked pleased, "If this is what Sol has to go against, we're all in the clear."_

---

**-Epilogue- **

_'Kuuenbu' -Air Dance_

Dawn graced the sky in a multitude of pinks and purples. The sun was a deep tomato-red as the first cracks of light appeared. Sol stood on a dusty patch of land; he stood before the eyes of his great-grandmother. Meda stared at her youngest descendant. The Master Emerald's heir sighed; finally this was it.

_It's my turn to walk the path of brilliance..._

The moment he had trained for. All his training; the blood, sweat, tears, and pain he had endured; it had been all for this moment. His great grandmother stood at the top of the shrine, gazing upon her descendant earnestly.

_Grandson, it's your turn to walk the path of brilliance..._

The Hedgehogs, Echidnas, and Prowers were a safe distance from Sol on-looking. All this was completely new to them too, except for Knuckles and Tikal. The strong red echidna himself waited silently as Tikal bit her nails.

_Son, it's your turn to walk the path of brilliance..._

"_You, young warrior_," Meda began, eyes sharp and studying, "_You wish to earn your rights to the guardianship of the Master Emerald_? _And you, young warrior wish to walk the path of brilliance_?"

"_Yes_," Sol replied in the tongue of his ancestors. Off to the side, Maria smirked slightly. She would die a thousand deaths before she told anyone about how she thought Sol's already smooth voice sounded muy caliente when he spoke in the ancient dialect.

"_Then you must face my trial_. _And only when you succeed shall you earn the privilege. Through the power of the Master Emerald, I shall summon your opponent I have chosen for you." _

The old echidna closed her eyes and pressed her gnarled fingers upon the temple of the green jewel. As the Master Emerald came to life, a pallid glow began to build from the heart of the emerald until it became blinding.

With a shared discontent, hands were raised to shield eyes as the intensity of the light kept growing. Sonic grinned and pulled on a pair of shades as Shadow glared at him. When the luminosity finally settled, the others lowered their hands and blinked, trying to refocus their sight. "Oh!" Daisy exclaimed, "Look!"

She pointed to a tall, water-based character that stood before them. Flash and Maria gasped; this creature was nothing like they had seen before. Standing across from the young guardian was Chaos, the alleged god of destruction. The echidna princess shuddered then slowly stepped even closer to Knuckles. Tikal reached out for her husband's hand and he accepted it wordlessly.

"Dad, what is that?" Maria asked in a mixture of awe and disgust. Shadow looked from his daughter to the blue being. For once he didn't have an answer about this one, "I'm not sure, Maria."

"That's Chaos," Tails replied, as knowledgeable as always, "He fought with Eggman and aided him in his effort to take over the world."

"So this is Chaos," Scythe crossed his arms and scoffed, "I've read about that guy in a couple of Eggman's computers. He certainly isn't much to look at." Maria blinked as Amy freaked, "Yeek! _That's _Chaos!? The guy Sonic fought against all those years ago!?"

"And I beat that ass!" Sonic looked pleased, "If this is what Sol has to go against, we're all in the clear."

The echidna youth looked from his great-grandmother to the goopy, liquid-like entity before him. Sol began to size up his motionless foe. It unnerved the guardian slightly that he couldn't read behind the monster's opaque, jade eyes. Maria watched silently as Sol's eyes fell into shadows. He was getting into his mode.

Now just what is a mode exactly? For starters everyone has one, it's like a person's concentration, an alter-ego, or some sort of ritual they have that gets them ready to accomplish a task that has to be done.

A mode is almost becoming something or someone else momentarily to do what a person has to. A mode could be a something as small as smiling when preparing to meet a newcomer or it could be as fierce as wearing a scowl before battle. Maria watched quietly as Sol fell into his mode.

While his fingers were at his sides, Sol flexed them slowly as his concentration began to build. His thoughts of the outside world were soon dispelled and his mind only consumed Chaos. The watery being was the only thing that was running through his thoughts now.

Sol began calculating method upon method of numerous ways to figure out his foe's weaknesses and how he was going to beat him, how he was going to cut him down. No foe who stood against the elite heir of the Master Emerald would prosper. Sol the Echidna was going to crush this guy. All he needed was his great-grandmother's say-so.

The old echidna woman glanced at Chaos, then at Sol. Aquamarine eyes met aquamarine and Meda narrowed her eyes; _this is it my son, let us now truly see what you are. Your father cannot defend you nor can your mother cradle you. You shall rise or plunder by your own accord_. _Walk or stumble by your own two feet._

After lingering on Sol's stern face for a moment, she looked forward. Meda's pale eyes gazed out towards the horizon, the place where the sun and sea clashed, "_Rendalia_."

Dance.

In a flare Sol charged Chaos. The earth tore under his footsteps as he quickly enclosed upon Chaos' position. With a yell, he raised his fist and sparked the fight. His close group of friends were rallied behind him, cheering happily as the fight ensured.

Tails followed the fight happily with his hand-held camcorder. On his miniature device's screen Sol and Chaos were captured, exchanging blow for blow. Chaos threw a punch and Sol sidestepped him easily.

With nimble reflexes, Sol grabbed the blue glob by his watery arm and swung his leg around to kick his foe in the temple. Chaos barreled into the ground and a new raise of cheers were raised. A smirk found its way upon Sol's face as he the cheers reached his ears.

Tails turned his hand-held device from Sol to the others in the crowd, capturing the rampant energy, "We're here live at Angel Island! And we're standing on the very training grounds were generations of Sol's ancestors battled for their right to protect the Master Emerald. Sonic, how do you feel about all this?"

The infamous champ turned to smile at the camcorder; he was never one to disappoint, "Man, this is awesome! And Sol's giving an unadulterated ass-kicking right now. You know at this rate, he'll finish the thing before lunch."

On the other side of the blue wonder, the crimson titan stood. Knuckles watched the fight with his arms crossed as he smiled proudly; his son was performing better than he had anticipated.

Just as Chaos rose to his feet, Sol appeared and sent him crashing to the ground again with another sweep of kicks and punches. Flash whooped as Maria whistled, "Oh yeah! Sol's a stud muffin!!"

Chaos rose again and Sol besieged him: punch, kick, bam, the big watery blue guy hit the floor. Another wave of cheers arose and this time Sonic covered his hands over his mouth to shout encouragement, "Keep it up Sol! You got 'em buddy!"

Daisy whooped, "Yea, Sol!"

"Amazing Sol!" Cream cried.

The blue wonder spun to Tails, "Hey bud get a shot of this!" Grinning, Sonic brought two bottles of champagne into the focus of Tails' handheld device. A louder cheer grew at the sight of the blue hero brandishing the victory momentums.

From the top of the Master Emerald shrine, Meda stood stolidly, it seemed as if she didn't share in their mirth. Likewise, the ultimate life form remained silent though and he simply turned to look upon the fight again. Shadow crossed his arms; _we shouldn't celebrate just yet, Sol still has the fight to win._

Sol smiled, as a single drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead. Shadow arched an eyebrow, taking this into account as Chaos rose to his feet. Like wise Sol's smile faded slightly as he charged at Chaos again; just how many blows was this guy going to take? Sol barreled into Chaos and rammed him with his shoulder, sending the blue goo to the floor again.

Panting slightly, Sol watched eagerly, watching to see if the blue blob would rise. Yet again, Chaos gathered himself up and stood. Sol snarled and charged at Chaos again, "Annoying!"

Once he was within attacking distance, he allowed his anger and frustration to fuel his attacks. After countless punches, kicks, and blows were given, Chaos hit the floor again. Hyperventilating now, Sol breathed in air greedily, awaiting Chaos. The blue blob remolded and stood again, waiting as if Sol hadn't just attacked him. Sunny blinked, "…Why does he keep getting back up?"

This time after Sol threw Chaos to the floor, the red-furred echidna kneeled and hammered away at him. The youth pummeled the blue blob with fast, furious punches. It was only when Sol realized he was panting that he decided to step away from the unmoving blue blob. Sol wiped the sweat away from his forehead and distanced himself.

After the onslaught they had witnessed, the once cheering, loud crowd behind Sol was stark silent, watching Chaos as intently as he was. The blue blob didn't disappoint and he rebuilt himself.

Yet again the blue blob looked as if Sol hadn't touched him. Sol took a step away from him; _this is just impossible_. This time, Chaos laughed. Sol's eyes widened slightly and the others gasped back wordlessly. The aqua-based entity who had been getting the daylights kicked out of him was chortling!

Sol crunched his hands into fists and plowed at Chaos headstrong again. He punched and kicked at the watery warrior as if possessed. Then, Chaos did something that none in the crowd or Sol had expected.

He dodged one of Sol's punches and hit the guardian with a blow to the stomach. Sol held his abdominal as he stumbled backwards, eyes wide; more so from shock than pain. He returned a left-handed hook and sent Chaos to his knees.

The watery blue blob looked up again and let out another bone-chilling laugh. At the sound of Chaos' terrible laughter, Cream and Daisy both latched onto the arms of their soul mates. Maria growled and decided to cheer her friend on, "Get him Sol! Wipe that smile off his ugly mug!"

Sol glared and sent a kick to the face of his foe, but when the echidna tried to pull his leg free, he was stuck! Chaos rose to his feet, with his challenger's foot stuck in his jelly-like face and he threw him into a tree.

Sol hit the tree, grimacing and looked up at Chaos with a nasty glare. The blue blob began to stroll toward him; was Chaos walking differently now? Sol pushed off the tree and propelled himself at Chaos. He swung a vicious right hook and decked the blue goop.

Chaos hit the floor then rose again. Sol snarled, evident that he was more than fed up with Chaos. He went for another round with the god of destruction, exchanging blow for blow but this time, after a missed kick, Chaos hit Sol with a punch.

Grimacing, Sol returned the blow and Chaos hit him in the stomach again. Sol recoiled but then nailed him with a roundhouse to the head. Chaos rebuilt himself and Sol glared, taking a step away from him.

The blue god laughed again. This time, when Sol went at him, Chaos caught his fist and dealt him a blow in the stomach. Sol fell over and heard Chaos's laughter, "_What is wrong guardian? Am I hurting you now!_?"

Sol roared, sprung from the ground and kicked Chaos's head with enough force to snap his head around his neck. Although Chaos's exterior was watery and giggly like jello, he still had a skeletal structure and a functional vertebrae.

With Sol's kick, everyone heard the noise of Chaos's head snapping. A wave of disgust traveled through his crowd of friends. Daisy covered her mouth as she turned a light shade of green; that was disgusting.

The aqua life form stood still, realizing his head had been viciously whipped around his neck. Then slowly, his head begun to untwist and his hyoid bones snapped and popped back into place. Sol backed away from Chaos in both surprise and revulsion.

"Holy-!?" Sonic jumped backwards reflexively as Shadow stared back in silence. Cream shielded her eyes as she buried her face into Tails' arm. The fox, who too was awestruck, had opted to covering Sunny's eyes, "Y-you shouldn't see this..."

"The hell is this guy!?" Scythe growled, ripping Sunshine from out of Tails' grasp and shielding his daughter's eyes himself. Daisy on the other hand looked as if she was going to blow chunks.

"Oh goodness," Daisy gasped, "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"...Monster," Flash whispered to himself as Maria clutched his arm tightly.

Another deep chuckle rose from Chaos and he took the opportunity to attack his befuddled foe. Chaos slugged Sol in the face for all it was worth. A myriad of stars broke before Sol's vision as he was sent to the floor. Chaos walked over to the youth and stopped before him.

When Sol lashed out at him with another punch, Chaos dissolved, reappeared and sent a kick into Sol's gut. Chaos positioned himself over Sol's slumped form and began to assault him.

Maria frowned, _'…What in the world? Why---how has this battle changed so drastically?_' She turned to her father, "Dad, all of Sol's attacks are having no effect! Why!? What's going on?"

Shadow kept his eyes locked on the battle, which looked to be turning one-sided, "…Sol's off centered."

Maria frowned, "What? What does that mean?"

Flash looked back at Maria, "Well, he better get back _on_ center."

Sol rolled out from under Chaos and scowled. His cocky foe beckoned him with a hand gesture. Sol threw another punch and Chaos blocked, then countered with another blow to the stomach.

The crimson-furred guardian recoiled, grasping his stomach with one hand and swinging at his foe with the other. Chaos barely moved his head. He looked at Sol, smiled, and sent another explosive punch into the guardian's stomach.

The young echidna collapsed, grimacing, '_What…is going on here!? Why is he destroying me all of a sudden? He's starting to tear me into pieces! What's going wrong!?'_

Chaos stopped before him and chuckled, _"Have you not figured it out yet? Without your center, you're off balanced. What does it matter if your punches are as mighty as surges of thunder? If you cannot touch me, then strength is useless. And what good is having speed, if you are not quick enough to avoid me? Between the two of us, you win the match of brawn…I suppose…but you are puerile in your ways of combat." _

He pointed toward the fire-furred echidna youth, "_For that…you are not worthy of the Master Emerald_!"

"_Bullshit_!!" Sol snarled and sped off toward the blue blob yet again. Just as he made to swing at Chaos, the blue guardian took the initiative to lead the fight. Sol countered and avoided his attacks swiftly.

It was only when Sol seemed to be getting back on his feet again, that Chaos smashed his momentum. He struck the guardian across the face twice, with enough force to leave the boy in stupor. If this was a cartoon, Sol would have little, spinning cuckoo birds chirping above his head.

Maria gulped; Sol appeared to be off in a pain-induced stupor, as Chaos prepared to finish him off. The blue blob of liquid, bones, organs and veins, raised its hands, setting up for the coupe de grace.

Shadow's daughter, as well as the others shouted desperately, yet helpfully at their friend, hoping he would come to his senses before it was too late. But it _was _too late. By the time Chaos struck, Sol didn't even know what hit him. It was both a blessing and a curse.

"_Heavenly Thunder Arrow_!"

Knuckles and Tikal gasped; had Chaos really just used their _son_'s signature move? A combination of their very own? Knuckles' Thunder Arrow and Tikal's Heavenly Justice. A bright blare of red light engulfed the guardian.

The moment faded away and grimacing, Sol dropped to his knees, then hit the floor. Tikal screamed as the others gasped. Maria cried out, as Chaos approached the unmoving guardian, "Sol!"

"_Now then, what to do with you boy_…"

He stopped before the fallen guardian and watched his Sol lay in the ground with his eyes tightly clenched shut. Chaos smirked taking in the guardian for a moment; humph, the boy had a nice face; now it would be twice as fun to ruin it.

Chaos began alternating between slapping Sol's left cheek and his right. The war hungry 'god' began to laugh fitfully as he punished the future guardian, all the while Sol clenched his eyes shut and bit his lower lip as he stomached the beating. Then Chaos, using his knee as a platform to lean Sol against, began to punch the guardian in his face.

Maria watched in utter horror as Chaos's laughter grew louder with each passing blow. Daisy and Cream gasped in astonishment as Shadow, Sonic, and Scythe growled in vexation; Chaos wasn't fighting him anymore, he was punishing Sol!

"I can't believe this," Flash growled as Maria narrowed her eyes. She twisted her fingers and growled as her anger began to build; now this guy was just a plain…

"Bastard…" Maria growled furiously.

"…This is enough," Sonic said with a disgusted moan, "Call this off now…"

"Please…Stop! Stop it!" Daisy cried, eyes wide from horror.

She was glad that Scythe was covering Sunny's eyes because this fight was turning brutal. Daisy couldn't believe that Chaos wasn't stopping his punishment. He was finding twisted pleasure in punching Sol in the stomach as hard as he could. And the god of destruction only chuckled when Sol groaned from pain or when he spat up blood.

After giving his tenth consecutive punch, Chaos gripped Sol by the neck and tossed him across the gravel floor. Sol landed on his back with a grimace. Beaten, bruised, and battered, Sol looked up at an approaching Chaos with his only good eye.

A mixture of blood and sweat trailed down his face in streams. Something inside of him told him fiercely that he was no where in league with Chaos. But his pride, the warrior within refused to give in; 'death before dishonor' it cried.

But his body, covered with ringlets of bruises, lacerations and wounds spoke otherwise. He felt his joints grind together painfully every time he moved, and his vision, out of the one eye that wasn't swollen shut was extremely blurry. But to rub salt in the wound, Sol couldn't even breathe properly; every time he took a deep breath of air, he felt his chest tighten.

Sol knew that this was a fight to the death and it looked as if Chaos intended to carry out that bargain. But why would he spare Sol unless he claimed defeat? Chaos had demolished many chosen guardians because of pride. And as ruthless as Chaos was, he would most likely draw out every moment of his termination.

"It's not worth it Sol," Amy cried, "Please, submit to him! You can live! And get better!"

What a jab to his pride that was. One of his_ aunts_ had just told him something he knew: that he was inadequate. Hadn't his father some years ago defeated Chaos? So was his father a better guardian at his age? Or had he grown up much more pampered. Then, he heard the voice that he feared the worst, his father's, "_My son, submit…"_

The fire-furred youth clenched his eyes shut and turned his head away; just the disappointed tone of his father's voice made him feel sick to his stomach. Somewhere in his subconscious, he thought it would be better to die than to disappoint his father and mother. They had been excellent teachers in preparing him for the guardianship of the Master Emerald. So why was he failing?

"_So what will it be pathetic one_?" Chaos asked snidely in the ancient echidna tongue, "_Do you submit to me? Submit your guardianship_?"

The echidna youth turned his head away from Chaos in shame and closed his eyes, which to his irritation were beginning to water. '_So this is how it ends? The future guardian is defeated, and he cries like a little child_? _Wow, I'm really something special.'_

Sol clenched his fists and shook, trembling with anger, disgust, disappointment and fear. Chaos stopped a couple of feet before him, eyes staring down at him arrogantly and a large grin in place, _"Well_?"

The blue-eyed echidna quickly found out that saying a few words was one of the hardest things he had done; his throat went dry, his tongue felt as if it weighed thousands of pounds, and he fought against the rising bile , "_I…"_

Sol covered his mouth as vertigo hit him; he really felt as if he was going to puke; and he was. Maybe vomiting would be the only way to get those words out of his mouth. But Chaos was impatient and he could careless about Sol's oversentimentially or his weak stomach.

If he wanted to avoid this he should have beat him, "_What is it pathetic commoner? Say those words like the mutt you are! SAY THEM!!"_

_"I...I...submit…"_

"_Good_. _Now say it in their tongue so they all can understand you_ _and delight in your shame as I have,_" Chaos gestured toward his friends.

Sol shook even more terribly and now tears flowed down his face unchecked. He looked up at the group of hedgehogs, a fox, bat, and a rabbit staring back at him. Everyone stared back at him with sad eyes, his mother was trembling, tears already drying on her face and his father wasn't even looking at him. Meda had her head lowered and her eyes closed; disappointment was prominent upon her features as well.

Somehow disappointment just didn't cover what the echidna felt; as both of his parents and great-grandmother were able to understand the ancient echidna dialect, they had already heard his confession; it was time for the others to hear him as well.

"I…I…", hot tears blurred Sol's vision, "I surrender…I give up…"

The faces fell almost together in one instant, a sad unison and an intense silence rose. The celebratory champagne bottles in Sonic's hands were suddenly void. For a second, he felt almost foolish for bringing them in the first place. The stale silence was broken with Chaos's laughter, he spoke in the unknown language.

Although the others couldn't understand a word, it was more than obvious that the sea-blue blob was happy with Sol's failure. And after his words and a mocking tug on one of Sol's cheeks, Chaos strode away.

Once the god of destruction was a good distance away, the others approached him and spoke comforting words. Daisy even went as far as hugging Sol. Before Sonic came over to Sol, he dropped the champagne bottles. The only person rooted in their previous spot was Tikal, who stood away from him in eerie silence.

"…You did well," Amy said softly.

"You'll get better," Daisy said.

A strong hand fell on Sol's shoulder and the echidna looked up to see Shadow looking right back at him, "You fought hard Sol and sometimes, it's all you can ask for. He was the better combatant, that's the truth."

"Sparky's right," Scythe said with a grunt, "You win some and you loose some."

"Sol…"

Just as Maria began to descend upon his position a shrill cry broke out. Stunned, they all turned to look at Tikal who was crying morbidly. She shrieked feverishly as she raced over to her son.

Shadow barely moved out of her path; if he hadn't, she would have bowled straight into him. She grabbed Sol by the collar of his neck and rung him furiously, she stared at him with wide, wild turquoise eyes, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SOL!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

It took the combined strength of Sonic, Shadow, and Scythe to pry the hysterical echidna from her son. Knuckles watched with great shock as Tikal continued to scream and rave at him almost insanely.

Sol himself stared at his mother wordlessly with eyes as round as plates. She fought against them furiously, now screaming in echidna, "_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE_!?"

"What in the hell," Scythe grunted, as he held back Tikal, "has gotten into her!?"

Sol watched in horror as his mother clawed and screamed at him. All of the quills she had pinned up on her head and fallen loose; a few of her quills fell in front of her face, semi-obscuring her eyes. Either way it made his mother look twice as wild and terrifying. It was such a shock to see his gentle, calm mother lit with such an unholy rage.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sol wondered what would have happened if Sonic, Scythe, and Shadow hadn't been there to restrain her. Would she have attacked him?After struggling for a few seconds more, Tikal's eyes seemed to become blank and she ceased her struggle. She fell silent and laid limp within Sonic's arms and allowed her arms to dangle lifelessly.

Sonic's green eyes looked at Tikal before refocusing on the others. Scythe looked down at her with a frown, "What was all that about?" Knuckles, after regaining his composure, looked away, "…It was nothing, she's just taking this harder than all of us. Let's just go back to the house."

Knuckles went over to Sonic and scooped Tikal away into his own arms. Everyone turned away and started to head back in silence. Only Maria and Sol were left. Flash had started to head back with the others but stopped when he realized that Maria wasn't by his side.

The blue hedgehog gazed over his shoulder and found the girl. Maria was looking back at Sol as he sat on the ground quietly. Never had she thought that things would turn out this way. She went back to Sol and took a knee. The expression she saw upon his face destroyed her, "Sol…"

Sol turned his face away from her, ashamed but Maria turned his face back to her; blue eyes met purple, "Don't. It's only you and me out here. I don't think any differently of you because you…"

Her throat tightened and she couldn't continue. She looked back at Sol when she heard him exhale. The tips of her fingers were warmed from his tears, "I…I failed. Maria, I failed…after all my training, after everything. I failed…My parents, they won't even look at me anymore…"

Maria cradled Sol into a hug as he burst out crying; at first she was startled with the normally cool, composed Sol breaking down, but she relaxed. The white bat took a knee as she hugged Sol tightly against her.

"Don't even say that. You know that's not true. You made me proud Sol. You fought valiantly. Now let's go back and get some dinner. While we're at it, you look like a hot bath will do you good."

Maria looked up, noticing Flash's cool blue figure, "A little help?"

Flash blinked then approached, "Oh course."

"Okay big guy, up and at em'." Flash Hedgehog wrapped one of Sol's arms around his neck and proceeded to help Maria limp the guardian back. The entire way, not one of the friends spoke a word. The only thing between them was a heavy, grim silence.

* * *

"_The power of the guardian is lost. He no longer has the right to its power_. _I found him unworthy. Therefore the power belongs to me. Do you disagree that he fell today at my hands?_"

"…"

"_Understand this old one. I shall take care of the Master Emerald. I shall restore her glory. Her status, as she was back when we walked this earth for the first time. I shall protect the emerald until I manage to find a suitable guardian." _

_"…You promise to look after the Master Emerald and let no harm befall it?" _

_"That is correct." _

_"…Your will is strong warrior, however I feel that your heart is terrible." _

_"That matters little now." _

_"But soon I feel it shall." _

_"Regardless, I shall prevent all harm from the emerald. This you know is true." _

_"…So be it. You are now entitled to the power of the Emerald, Turrok." _

_"Wise choice, Meda." _

_"This is not my will. It is the way that things have been done for centuries. I would never allow you to hold such power. You are an oppressor and a power-lusting fool. Alas, it is not my place to say." _

* * *

Tikal sat up in bed gasping, sweating from a terrible vision for the umpteenth time. A dream, it had all been a dream. No, Turrok—Chaos did not really get granted to receive the power of the Master Emerald. That would be a bad thing.

A very bad thing. With a sigh, Tikal wiped the cool sweat away from her face. Although her face felt flushed, the perspiration that rolled down her face felt like tiny ice pellets. She glanced over at Knuckles, he was deep asleep living away in one of his dreams.

Perhaps she should follow his lead and relax. Nothing was going to happen. Tikal slowly sank back into the bed, staring at the ceiling. Yes, that's right nothing was going to happen. Another day would follow, the sun would rise, set and another day would take its place. Everything was going to be fine.

Slowly, Tikal's eyelids began to flutter under the weight of sleep and fatigue. With a sigh, her eyes fell closed. Unconsciousness was starting to gnaw away when the earth began to tremble. Tikal popped up instantly as did Knuckles seconds later. They exchanged glances.

"What the hell is that?"

"I do not know. You answer me!"

The terrible earth tremors continued, rattling the house horribly. The door to their room was jarred open as a blue hedgehog leaned against the doorframe, trying to steady himself, "I think…you guys better come see _this_…"

They tore through the house, making their way through the exit. They joined the others outside. The cold, midnight air was chilling, running a cool finger down their spines. Knuckles and Tikal gasped at the sight. Tikal looked especially haunted, with her eyes becoming opaque and her mouth hanging lifelessly.

Miles away a great, an almost magnificent stone castle stood. It looked as if it was a structure that had been resurrected from ancient times. Was this why the earth was shaking, moaning so greatly? Wind whipped and lashed at their faces as they stared at the ivory structure.

Tikal trembled, carelessly backing into the person behind her. Scythe stopped looking at the castle and glared at the princess; all day she had been acting weird, just what in the world was wrong with her? Tikal covered her mouth with one hand, "…No…How? How can this be?"

Sonic looked at Tikal, "What is it, Ti?"

"…Impossible," she was too busy in her own universe to reply. Amy turned to her good friend, " Tikal what? What is that? Do you know what that building is?"

"How in the name of Heaven…IS THAT HERE!? HOW!?" Knuckles put his hands on Tikal's shoulder and stared her in the eyes, "What? What do you mean?"

"That structure…it was built days and weeks before I was to be wed! Centuries ago!"

She grabbed Knuckles shaking him ferociously, "Tell me…why does it stand? WHY DOES IT STAND!?"

Sol stepped forward, "…Mother?"

Tikal snapped around to face him, although she said nothing, her eyes raged like inferno. Sol backed away from her as her icy eyes followed him. Maria clutched one of Sol's arms as his blue eyes dimmed. Suddenly, the world around them stopped shaking.

Everyone fell silent, letting stillness take the air painstakingly. Out of the blue, Tikal let a feral shriek break the silence. Everyone turned to look at her keenly. This time, she looked as if she had lost all her reason. Her eyes were abysmally bright and wild and she trembled terribly. The others looked away from her and turned to see what she was looking at.

Approaching them with strides that made a king look like a pauper, an orange echidna advanced. A small smirk was present on his face as he approached. He was dressed in robes similar to those Knuckles wore and his face was decorated with two dark red war streaks. His frame and build were powerful, etched with muscle.

His amber eyes stopped on them and his smirk grew wider.

Turrok walked the earth again…

* * *

-**To be continued!**

**-Chaos is freakin' back!? ...Need I say more?**


	7. Rakuhouha

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Sorry for the long delay but I just finally finished finals and school izz ouuut!! Expect updates but I'll still be doing summer sports training so don't expect updates everyday.

-And listen to 'Pretty Handsome Awkward,'-By the Used for this chapter. That song goes with this chapter like bread and buttah.

-Aaand, is there anything else I need to clear up? Chaos and Turrok are the same dude and yeah, we're good to go.

- "Ultrra"-Talking

-' _Shaddow_' –Thinking

-"_Rocks_"- Echidna-nese

---

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

_Rakuhouha_ : "Fallen Phoenex Crush"

"Who is that?" Sonic asked already knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer to his query. Just the way this echidna dude carried himself annoyed the blue hero. This guy, this approaching orange echidna strolled around as if he was the master of the universe.

"Who is it?" Knuckles parroted, looking at Tikal.

"Turrok."

Knuckles played telephone and passed the message onto the blue wonder, "Chaos."

Sonic turned to look back at the approaching echidna, "Oh shi--"

A young, cerulean blue hedgehog appeared behind Sonic; his cyan-green eyes were furrowed in concentration, "Dad, who is that? I--"

Flash only paused when Shadow raised his hand to silence him. Before them Turrok, the entity previously known as Chaos, stood proudly. His smile broadened at the sight of their confusion-clouded faces, "_Hello there. I hope you're enjoying your stay on my island." _

At the sound of the ancient language, brows were furrowed and eyebrows were elevated; what the heck was he saying? Daisy glanced over at Scythe helplessly but he merely shook his head.

"Your island?" The sound of Knuckles' challenge brought everyone's eyes upon him.

_"Yes, my island. Seeing as how your brat failed to pass, I'm the new guardian of the Master Emerald and t__his island is for my people, it is for those who guard the Master Emerald. If this was too much for you, let me recap: this is my island and I am the new guardian._"

"Until you find someone else worthy," Knuckles growled, "Sol will be ready to fight you again soon."

_"He has decades and years until he is able to defeat me!"_ Chaos laughed, delighted, "_However, it is my duty to find someone as the new guardian of the Master Emerald. And for that, I have returned to claim what is rightfully mine._"

With a smirk on his face, Chaos began to approach them superciliously. Sonic backed away slightly until he fell in line beside Shadow and Knuckles. Both of his friends seemed to have different agendas on their mind; Knuckles was drawn into a guard stance, waiting any shifty actions as Shadow glared back at the approaching echidna cagily, gauging the new foe.

Scythe popped up behind Sonic and leaned closer to talk to him, "Blue…I don't like this guy very much."

"You and me both, cyborg."

"If this bastard gets any closer to my family," Scythe growled with an evil smile. "I'll have to hurt him."

Shadow snarled as Chaos approached; this wasn't looking good. The ultimate life form was sure Chaos didn't drop by just to say hi, he was going to screw them over somehow. Shadow just knew it; he could sense it as if he was psychic.

And after Rouge's death, Shadow had given up combat; it had been eighteen years since he had raised a fist against anyone. But would he have to break his vow of silence now? Shadow glanced at his daughter for a brief second; would Chaos involve her in this somehow?

The black and crimson hedgehog snapped out of his thoughtful stupor when he realized Chaos stopped moving. The ocher echidna paused in his footsteps. His gold eyes traveled around the crowd:

Let's see now, there's a blue hedgehog, a red-eyed black hedgehog, a white bat behind the red-eyed hedgehog, ah, of course there was the fool Knuckles, and there was a pretty beige echidna with the brightest aquamarine eyes. Chaos smiled.

When her eyes met Turrok's, aquamarine irises widened in alarm. Oh no, he spotted her, he found her within the crowd of her friends. She was doomed. Smirking, Chaos pointed a sure finger at Tikal, "_I'll be reacquiring my wife now." _

"Like hell you are!" Knuckles spat, he instantly drew into a fighting position, "You'll have to kill me before that happens."

"Knuckles…" Tikal breathed, turning to look at Knuckles.

The guardian warrior placed a hand on her delicate face, he loved the way her eyes shone when she was emotional, "I'd rather die than let that bastard anywhere near you. He's going to get through me. You're my wife and no one shares what's mine."

"Knuckles…"

Chaos looked at the touching scene with a bitter disgust. How dare that fool put his hands on his Tikal! Knuckles would pay dearly for that. Turrok took a step forward, "_The echidna race is a dying breed. However, I shall make an exception and lay waste to you. _

Knuckles removed his robes and glided straight into combat. Tikal's eyes snapped over to the red warrior, she watched as her husband went into battle. The echidna princess felt her heart stop; she had to help Knuckles! Or Chaos would kill him!

"Knuckles! No!" with a cry, Tikal went to run toward him, only to be halted by Sonic's strong grip, "No! You mustn't fight him, love! Please! He's too powerful!!"

As Tikal struggled in the grasp of a friend, Knuckles sent lightning fast punches and kicks at the current guardian. Chaos avoided them effortlessly, smirking. This was all child's play; with the power of the Master Emerald at his dispense, no one could stop him, especially this measly retired guardian. With a cry, Chaos pulled one of his fists back and launched into Knuckles with a punch.

Pain altered Knuckles' face into surprise. Chaos laughed as he saw Knuckles slump and drop to his knees. Turrok chuckled and leaned forward to whisper into Knuckles' ear, "_What is wrong guardian? Does my might hurt you?" _

"H..ow? You…weren't that strong…before," he grimaced.

"N-no way…" Sonic stepped back disbelievingly as Amy gasped; just how powerful was this guy? It took one blow to bring Knuckles, the strongest guy of the bunch to his knees.

Chaos looked at Knuckles' bowed form and smiled terribly, _"As I told you, the power of the Master Emerald is mine. It now runs in my veins like blood. And your attempt to stop me was pitiful, but you know what they say,' like father, like son_.'"

He hoisted Knuckles into the air by his neck and drew back a fist. Knuckles struggled in his grasp as he grounded his teeth together, "_However, unlike your bastard child, I shall finish you! Then I shall create the perfect heir with your wife! Enjoy your afterlife with that in mind!" _

"I ain't lettin' you go over there, Tikal," Sonic cried, still holding his firm grip on her arm, "That guys' a f-r-e-a-k, a freak!"

"Then you must help him!" Tikal replied with tears ebbing the corner of her eyes, "Please, Chaos is too strong, he has the power of the Master Emerald in his veins! Please help him."

Both Shadow and Sonic tore their gazes from the pleading princess and onto Turrok. They both froze at the sight before them: Chaos was smiling madly as Knuckles was hanging in the air by his neck. The red echidna was choking, trying with all his strength to pry Chaos' fingers loose from his windpipe.

Sonic sprung into action; he didn't have to understand the echidna language to know what was going on. Chaos's actions were all self-explanatory. Within seconds he managed to appear beside Chaos and swung at him. Sonic gasped when he saw Chaos hadn't flinched from his blow.

The echidna turned to look at the blue hero and returned the favor. Sonic flew backwards with such a vicious velocity that he ended up slamming into Tails and bowling both him and Cream over.

The rabbit went down with a shriek as the dead weight of the two heavier guys toppled her over effortlessly. Shadow and Scythe gasped at sight of their fallen friends; holy cow, he had just flung Sonic away as if he were nothing! This was Sonic_ the_ Hedgehog he had just snuffed.

"Father!"

"Sonic!"

Both Flash and Amy dropped to the floor to help up Sonic, Tails and Cream. Flash gazed at his dad jadedly, "Dad, are you okay?"

Chaos laughed at the sight of his foes toppling over like bowling pins and within a matter of seconds, Scythe leapt over the crowd and made his way to Chaos. That was too much. There was no way he was going to allow this freak of nature a chance to laugh at them. Daisy looked after him apprehensively as he shot off into battle, "Scythe!"

Sunny frowned, "Dad! Quit being such a hothead!"

While Scythe may be a hothead, at least he was an honorable hothead. He had seen Chaos work through his friends and scorn their attempts; Scythe was going to beat him senseless for that.

With his robotic appendage, Scythe slammed his fist into the side of Chaos's head. The blow didn't seem to faze him and that prompted Scythe to continue. Kick, punch, kick; Scythe continued beating into the echidna.

The dark hedgehog only pulled away when he was tired and hyperventilating. With a glare, Scythe stood poised in an offensive stance, gauging the damage of his attacks. But Chaos still remained unfazed, the echidna merely cut his eyes over to Scythe and smirked at his growing stupor, "What the hell is this!?"

"_That was a little better perhaps, but still highly ineffective_."

Scythe found himself on the receiving end of a devastating blow to his arm. Pain lanced through his arm as he felt it burning. Scythe could vaguely recall hearing the screams of his daughter and wife before his own drowned theirs out.

For a last good measure, Chaos twisted his arm until he heard one more snap. Turrok released the black and silver hedgehog; he had done enough damage to this fool. Gripping his arm, he managed to stumble away from Chaos and end up beside his family. As Daisy and Sunny circled him, Scythe glanced at his arm then looked away.

It was crushed; a mixture of blood and oil dribbled down his arm in a darkened river, and wires and metal protruded from his flesh. In fact, the damage in his arm was so extensive, that he had lost control from his wrist down. Scythe cursed silently as he grimaced at his limp, hanging hand.

"Scythe! What happened?" Daisy asked.

Although the robotic half of his mind had told him that his arm had been broken in several places, he didn't need all the diagnostic scans to know that; his living, breathing organic half could feel the pain, "He…mashed it…"

Chaos burst into another boom of laughter; Amy curled her fist angrily as her eyes darkened. Why if she had her hammer, she's show that jerk a thing or to. No one would hurt her husband and live to tell about it.

Turrok stood before the remaining crowd arrogantly; Sonic looked like he was seeing stars, Scythe was grimacing in pain, Knuckles was sucking wind. Honestly who would want to stand before him now?

So who else could he hurt now? Answer: he found his next victim who was a red echidna with bright blue eyes. Maria glowered as Sol winced; Chaos had chosen to mess with him next.

"_Tell them, oh pitiful one," _he jerked a hand toward Sol, "_that if they move out of my path and allow me to acquire my wife, they shall face no more pain_. _Speak pathetic one."_

Sol grimaced, "He says that if we move and allow him to take my mother, he won't hurt anyone else."

"…And _let_ him take aunt Tikal!?" Maria cried half wrathful and incredulous, "Forget _that_!"

"He's got a whole lot more of us to go through," Flash stepped before the others. Chaos chuckled as his amber eyes fell on the blue figure before him. Just how old was this kid?

He looked to be about the same age as that pathetic echidna boy he pummeled. While Sol may have been a weakling, he was twelve times better than this fool; hedgehogs were much inferior to echidnas.

"_A child? Is this foolish hedgehog challenging me!? How laughable! Pathetic one, tell this foolish youth that he is nowhere in league with the echidna race! Find your mother before you are hurt, boy."_

Maria stepped beside Flash, eyes narrowed, "Let's go!"

"Right."

Just as Flash dashed forward, a strong grip locked Maria in place. She stalled in the middle of her stride and looked over her shoulder. A stern face appeared, "You will do no such thing."

"Dad! I have to he--"

"_No_," he deadpanned.

"What about Flash!?"

Shadow looked up warily to see Flash charging at Chaos. Turrok appeared amused as Flash tried his turn at striking the vicious echidna. Heck, this kid was even less experienced than the other blue hedgehog! At least the first blue hedgehog didn't leave himself open as often as this young fool. Ah youth, it was always wasted on these kids.

Chaos finally caught one of Flash's punches and retaliated by slapping him in the face; this kid wasn't even worth going all out on! Before Flash could fall from the blow, Chaos hoisted him into the air by the collar of his green hooded sweatshirt.

Amy shrieked in terror as Chaos held up her son none too gently. Grimacing, the famous wide receiver opened one eye, then the other in order to meet Turrok's stare. Chaos merely looked at the boy and scoffed, "_As I said, hedgehogs are much more inferior to us echidnas._"

And after tossing Sonic's son to the side, Chaos continued on his undeterred path toward the huddle and toward Tikal. Flash slowly rose from the floor and clenched his arm around his throat; _damn, what kind of grip does this nut job have?_ _No wonder why Sol lost to this guy, he's a monster! _

"Flash!" Maria called out.

Maria looked back and growled; the only people standing were her aunts Amy, Cream, Daisy, Sunny and her good friend Sol. This wasn't looking too good at all. The ivory bat turned to her dad, "Dad, we have to do something! He's coming _right_ for us! And we're only a group of four girls and a half-beaten echidna!"

Chaos's amber eyes traced every figure in the crowd until he found Tikal. She froze as his gaze set and melded onto her. A slow, crooked smile began to grow on his face. Then it turned downright sinister. So, after eluding him for all these years, here she was. Right under his thumb.

Triumph was just around the corner and no one here could stop him. That thought alone made Chaos's adrenaline pump. Tikal backed away, eyes fearful as Chaos approached. Although a few bodies stood between her and the menace, she still acted as if they weren't present.

He smiled as he stared down at her, "_What is ever the matter fair one? Happy to see your true husband at last? I am not surprised to see that child failed." _

The echidna princess tried to summon her voice, but found that it was completely useless. A large lump in her throat stopped her short of words. She continued to back away from Chaos as he approached, "_That pathetic heir you produced came from pathetic spouse of yours. However we shall make plenty of suitable guardians."_

As Chaos begun to close upon the crowd, Sol leapt out of nowhere. The entire duration, even when his father had been attacked, he had remained stasis. Now something had snapped and triggered his wrath.

Maria was stunned into silence as she watched Sol fling himself and claw at Chaos. A feral, unruly anger lit his normally tranquil eyes, "_Don't you touch her_!_ You stay away from my mother! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!_"

Chaos had been stunned by the boy's retaliation, but he still was able to fling the boy away effortlessly. He pressed his foot to Sol's back and applied pressure, "_Have you not learned your lesson already_? _Must you wear anymore bruises, Pathetic one_?"

Even though Sol was trapped under his foot, he fought furiously. His eyes shone with feral malice as he clawed and tore at Chaos. Shadow watched in utter revulsion as Chaos grinned in a twisted satisfaction. Maria roared furiously and lunged out at Chaos.

The red-streaked antihero was quick enough to reach out and restrain her. Maria shrieked and struggled viciously as she thrashed about within his grasp. A bright burst of fuchsia energy had engulfed her and her eyes were seething. If Shadow didn't know any better, he'd think that his daughter was preparing for a Chaos Blast.

Chaos averted his attention from Sol to Maria. The white bat had a wild surge of energy dancing around her. She fought with everything she had to break free from the black hedgehog's grasp but it was futile, as he was able to hold her.

Shadow felt his insides flip when he saw Chaos starting to make a beeline straight for Maria. '_No...not Maria…stay away from her, bastard…_'

But Chaos continued, intent on approaching her. A conflict seized Shadow: to fight or not to fight? Violence, he had given it up. Whenever he fought, something bad always happened and someone else always paid for his mistakes.

All his power ever brought was pain and suffering. On the other hand, Chaos had just cut right through their defense, working his way through each of his friends as a silver knife worked through hot butter.

The antihero looked at Flash's agonized form; he had pummeled the youth without a second thought. The hedgehog was just a kid and now the monster had his sights on his daughter. Shadow curled a fist and growled; what should he do? With his violence someone always suffered, but Chaos was coming for her daughter.

The orange echidna was making a marked path right for his Rouge Maria. Then Shadow's eyes narrowed as realization hit him, "…How could this even be a matter to contest?"

Maria looked at him, "What?"

Chaos was three steps away from the girl and when Maria had given up hope on her father, Shadow disappeared and reappeared before her. With a roar, Shadow plowed into Chaos. He slammed and drove his shoulder into his foe's gut with everything he had. He followed through with another blow to the stomach.

Before Chaos could escape, Shadow clenched his arm as a fire-red glow burst around him. Chaos glared at him in disbelief as Shadow's burning energy began to sear his flesh. Hellfire danced within the hedgehog's scarlet eyes, "Stay the hell away from my daughter! Chaos Spear!"

For once, Chaos looked shocked, "…_What did you just say, hedgehog!?" _

With a roar, Shadow slammed an orange blare of energy into Chaos' gut. Shadow released his grip upon the echidna's arm as his attack sent Turrok flying. Chaos hit the floor, leaving a trail of spittle behind.

Along with Amy, Cream, and Sonic, Maria stared after her father in awe, "…Whoa, dad..."

Just as Maria went to take a step forward, Shadow spoke authoritatively, "Rouge Maria Hedgehog, don't you move an inch."

Maria stayed put as a frown surfaced on her face; wait a minute, wasn't Shadow's back to her? So then how did he even know she was going to take a step toward him? Did he have eyes in the back of his head or something!? Maybe that was one of the many mysteries of Shadow she still had to find out.

Shadows' daughter jerked her head toward a new sound. Her purple eyes were fixed on Chaos. He rose to his feet and stumbled backwards. Chaos clenched his fist; how could someone move that fast?

Turrok held his stomach as he looked back at Shadow, disbelief apparent on his face. The black and red hedgehog before him was glaring at him sternly, his expression seemed to say, '_you're good, but so am I.' _

This hedgehog looked as if he thought himself to be an equal. This thought made Chaos swap his surprise for a dark, bloodthirsty fury; curse that hedgehog! That dirty, low life hedgehog!

"…That actually hurt!"

Shadow's glare lightened slightly; apparently even after all these years of peaceful living, his reflexes were still razor sharp. Then realization hit him, Chaos spoke in their language. Sonic chuckled, "Huh, so _that's_ what it takes to get him to speak in a language we all know!?"

The irate echidna bared his teeth furiously and motioned toward Maria, "You shall pay dearly for that one, you lowlife hedgehog! You inferior being! I summon, Heavenly Thunder!"

Shadow froze as horror grew on his daughter's face. A blitz of orange energy tore past the girl, missing her by mere inches. In the blink of an eye, Shadow reappeared before his daughter. She was shivering, suffering from shock, "Maria? Are you okay?"

A sharp wail pierced the air, "Shadow! Look out!!"

Maria snapped out of her stupor and shouted a warning at her father but it was too late. Shadow knew that Chaos was standing right behind him. In a last attempt of protecting his daughter, Shadow shoved Maria away forcefully.

In synchronization, Maria flew through the air as Chaos jarred Shadow with a blow to the temple. Amy and Sol both rattled Maria, trying to bring her back to clear consciousness.

Shadow had the best intentions in mind with pushing Maria out of harm's way, but on her way, her skull had made contact with a boulder. Bleary purple eyes opened, and she almost wanted to squeeze them tight again, at the sight of her father being brutalized by the monster.

It hurt to see Chaos sending multiple punches and jabs into her dad's staggering form. Maria screamed as she watched her father being pummeled. The only thing Shadow knew during the onslaught was that a surge of pain had hit him like a freight train.

The world capsized and Shadow hit the floor. As a curtain of darkness began to fall over him, Amy's worried face appeared above him. She spoke, but no audio came with her words. Shadow's world went dark as the lady's face became blurry and faded away into nothingness.

* * *

"!" 

Shadow popped up in bed far too quickly. His eyes darted around predatorily, with his senses heightened. His injuries pacified him quickly, reminding him of what he had been through. Everything, every part of his body ached; it just hurt all over.

He slumped back into bed, on top of all the pain, he felt feverish as well. Moving, even readjusting barely, hurt terrifically. So Shadow did the only thing he could; he stared at the ceiling. The door to the room creaked open and a soft voice called out to him, "Dad? Daddy?"

"Yes?" In his mind, Shadow cursed himself; somehow his voice had come out groggy and weak. He sounded like some kind of feeble old man.

"Dad!" sounding a little move relieved, Maria ran over to him, "Dad are you okay?"

Her beautiful face hovered over his. The girl's amethyst eyes were sad; it was unbefitting to see such a face as hers filled with sorrow. As energetic and vivacious as Maria was, she usually wore expressions of jollity. Sometimes even, she would wear fierce, wrathful faces anger. But sorrow had no position on her face.

"How are you father?"

"…Axdcsdf," Shadow couldn't form an intelligible response.

Shadow put a hand to his head and sighed. Maria sat beside his makeshift bed and rubbed his stomach, "…You don't have to say anything, I'm just glad that you're okay. Who was that guy?"

Maria sighed then looked at her dad, his stare met hers, "You know he took aunt Tikal? Uncle Knux won't admit it, but he's furious. Everyone else is fine."

"Mari--" Shadows voice faded out weakly again and he stopped talking.

Shadow glared; why was his voice doing this? His body as well? He had been through much worse pain than this. This was just ridiculous. Shadow sat up against his aching body's wishes.

"The echidna…" he gritted his teeth, forcing his voice to grow stronger, "That was Chaos."

Maria blinked, "Chaos? The punk Sol fought? So what in the world does he want with auntie?"

Shadow looked away, not really wanting to know the answer. Whatever his intentions were, they certainly weren't pure. A knock permeated Shadow's thoughts and the door creaked open again. Sonic's son appeared, "Maria?"

Then he looked at Shadow, surprise graced his features, "Shadow!" Flash made his way beside Maria, "Unc, are you okay?"

Shadow nodded his head, "But I still don't forgive you for sleeping in the same bed as my daughter." Flash smiled then made a move to pat Shadow's shoulder, "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

"Speak for yourself," Shadow pointed to the boy's abdomen, which was wrapped with an overkill of bandages.

Sonic's son suddenly looked enormously embarrassed, "It's not _tha_t bad, mom just happened to be the person to mend me. And you know how she gets when she gets worried."

Maria giggled, mentally she relished the image of seeing Flash being bandaged up by her aunt Amy. If Amy had her way, Flash probably would have been hooked up to an IV and put on life support. Flash exhaled; making a sound between a snort and a sigh, then looked at Maria, "Can I talk to you…''

"…Alone?"

Eyes narrowed as Shadow instantly became curious; that was one the thing Flash didn't want. Shadow _the _Hedgehog on his back. Before her father had the chance to pry, Maria followed Flash from the guest bedroom and out into the hallway. At the moment no one else was there. Maria looked up at Flash, "So?"

"Well, it's about Sol," Flash demeanor took a complete one-eighty, "He hasn't spoken a word to anyone. I've even tried speaking to him, but it's been pointless. Would you--?"

"Of course."

"_Sonic Flash Hedgehog_!"

Flash flinched; not only from the complete use of his entire name, but also because of the shrill octave it had been pitched. That meant one of two things: firstly, that he was in trouble and two, his mother was looking for him and she was angry.

And when Amy managed to become angry, she was able to become more vengeful and more callous than the grim reaper himself. Flash slowly spun around and mentally, began to prepare himself for the inevitable. A door crashed open behind him and his mother appeared, with her eyes set on him.

She stomped over towards him angrily and managed to swap her usually adorable features with a vicious, blood thirsty battle scowl. Bloody thirsty, that was a fine word to describe Amy's current state.

"Where in the _world_ have you been!? I turn my back for a second and you take off!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. Flash glanced at Maria, signaling her to carry on with their agreement; they both knew this would take awhile, "Mom I'm sorry, I thought you were finished."

"So you left even _when_ I said to stay put?" Amy looked at him incredulously, "You know, you're becoming more and more like your father."

Flash perked up, "Really?"

"That's not a good thing."

"…Oh."

Smirking, Maria left Flash to his own devices, "Good luck Flashy. I'm gonna go see Sol now." She turned away and started outside, Flash decided to try to save his own skin, "Uh, I think I'll join you too."

Just as Flash turned to follow Maria, a firm hand gripped his shoulder almost painfully, "Oh _no_ you don't."

Flash sighed as he heard Maria chuckling on her way out; he was a dead man and the executioner was none other than his mother waiting for him at the guillotine with a sharpened ax.

Just as Flash had said, Sol was outside by himself. It didn't matter that the day was as ugly and as gray as could be. The cold winds tore through Maria's clothes like nothing, leaving her with a dreadful chill. She hugged herself as she approached him, tendrils of silken white hair billowing out behind her. She ignored her short, choppy bangs whipping against her face.

"Sol!"

No response, he stared out into the darkness.

"Sol!"

By now Maria was sure that he could hear her, he just chose to simply not acknowledge her, "Dammit Sol! I know you hear me! What are you doing out here?" Maria walked up beside Sol and clutched his arm roughly, her temper straying to fray with his insolence, "_Sol!_"

"I can't…"

"What?"

"I can't do this Maria," he looked back at her with sorrow creeping through his features; was he crying? "_Temutha_! He took my mother! My mother! She Right now he's probably doing unspeakable things to her and it's all my fault! _Aldulma_!"

Maria sighed, "Well, we can't do anything right now."

Sol stared at Maria who, despite the grim circumstances, grinned intrepidly at him. He had been beaten savagely, lost his mother, and even his pride, but something about Maria, her essence made him suddenly feel strong again.

Maybe it was the flare of her bold personality; the self-assured smirk, the fiery eyes, even her posture was brave; she held herself with a slight lean to the side and a single hand on her hip.

The wind whipped strands of stray hair into her unblinking eyes. Goodness, just who was this woman? Maria's powerful smile lightened as she noticed the change on Sol's face. Suddenly she stepped toward him and Sol did as well.

He knew what he wanted to do with her at that moment, he could feel his heart thumping and he could feel his pulse quickening. No matter how long Sol stared into those big, lovely purple orbs, he would never grow tired of looking at them.

Maria suddenly broke into a sweet smile, one that made his heart stop, "Go ahead. Take the lead and show me what you want."

Unsurely, Sol dipped his head and bent toward Maria. He licked his lips nervously as he hovered mere inches from her face. Sol opened his eyes for a second to glance at Maria's face. Her eyes were closed as she waited with anticipation. A small smile suddenly grew on her face, "..You're not scared, are you?"

"I--well,..."

Even though she still had her eyes closed, her smile blossomed, "...Don't be afraid, just...kiss me..."

"..."

"Just bend in more, lean closer, and you've got it..."

The white bat's heart fluttered as she felt Sol's shadow drape over her. She wondered if his heart was beating just as crazily as hers. When Sol was nearly within kissing distance, Maria smirked then met him halfway in a kiss. Their lips met and it seemed as if the world around them didn't exist.

Somehow, as Sol melted into the kiss he felt himself dissolving, his fears, anxiety, tension, everything. In fact he didn't even mind the cold wind any longer. With Maria's arms wrapped around him, he wasn't cold at all anymore.

"So Maria, how's consulting Sol going?"

Flash stepped outside with a small smile present. Just as he stepped outside into the cold, the smirk disappeared. In front of him was the display of two entwined figures. Although their affectionate display looked inexperienced, there was no doubt of the passion between the two. For a split second emerald eyes widened then Flash turned his head and closed his eyes. Wordlessly he turned away and closed the door behind himself silently.

* * *

-**To be continued! **

**-Well it's obvious that there's a love triangle goin' on. So I have an idea where I'm goin' with this but ladies and gentlemen I leave it up to you to make this decision. Muwhahaha!**

**-Should the lovely Maria choose the dynamic, charismatic Flash Hedgehog or the thoughtful, equable Sol Echidna? **


	8. Movement

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

---

_The green reptile flexed his muscles, "And it's no mystery why women are so crazy over yours truly, I'm heroic, strong, and gorgeous."_

_"…Can we get to the matter at hand here, Romeo!?" Shadow narrowed his eyes, "And besides she's a human."_

_"No, first we must address this problem you got Shadow! First you nab Rouge, then Viola chased you, Starla was crazy for you and even that hunny Ginger was all over you. Quit bein'greedy and hordin' all the babes to yourself! Sharing is caring! Sharing is caring!!"_

---

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

_Movement… _

Tearing through the forest, Knuckles, accompanied by a flock of his fellow companions, trekked wildly through Angel Island's bright foliage. A determined glint danced within the red guardian's eyes as he tore through the green, blue, and red blurs of the tropical scenery. A figure pulled up beside him and Sonic glanced at him curiously, "So where are we going exactly?"

Everyone had been trying to recover at the Echidna household, but then Knuckles suddenly jumped up and tore out the house like a madman. The others decided to follow out of sheer curiosity.

"Yo! Knux, where are we goin!?" Sonic tried again.

"To get to the Master Emerald," Knuckles huffed, then he scowled, "That must be the next place that bastard went! To take the emerald."

"Crap, crap, crap!" Sonic hissed, "Why didn't we think of that earlier!?"

The blue wonder didn't know much about the Master Emerald or its working, but he was educated enough and more than certain that whenever a bad guy got their hands upon it, it was never a good thing. That emerald could give terrifying amounts of power; it could charge anyone's batteries nicely.

"Shouldn't you echidnas have some kind of security alarm or pin code that stops bad people from getting that thing!?" Sonic cried.

"Yeah, they're called guardians," Knuckles shot back.

"Are we almost there?"

Pulling up beside the two heroes was Amy Rose. She glanced between the two then smiled, "You know, I never thought I'd ever be able to match strides with _you_ Sonic."

The blue hero cursed; with the beating Chaos had given, he couldn't move anywhere near his true speed. This meant that anyone who was usually ten stops slower than him was able to match his strides easily.

Amy took full advantage of that. Sonic smiled deceptively sweet at her, "Well Amykins, perhaps you should have fought that jerk. I'm sure then you wouldn't be able to run this fast."

"Well, unfortunately my hammer's at home," Amy sighed, "We'll have to drop by and get it sometime."

"_We?_" Sonic scoffed, "Are you speaking French?"

Amy glared, "No and when I say we, I mean we! As in you and I." With his two tails twirling, Tails appeared after a clearing of trees, he too was right on top of Sonic's position, the blue hero moaned, "That's it, I quit."

"Its just ahead," Tails called, shielding his eyes from the sun. Sure enough the tall, crumbling structure came quickly into view. Knuckles glanced at the top of the pillar where the king of all emeralds rested. Was there a figure up there? It certainly was.

Scythe looked forward; his eyes turned a shade of orange as his optics magnified the lone figure at the top of the shrine. In his opinion, whoever the echidna was, they were asking for a royal ass kicking. With everyone being all hurt and pissed off, no one would be in a mood to take kindly to this stranger.

The guardian ground his teeth as he forced himself to quicken his pace, Amy and Sonic blinked as he suddenly went into overdrive. Amy looked back at Sonic, "Sorry to smash your pride, but I gotta make sure he's okay."

"What are you--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Amy pulled ahead, breaking away from Sonic easily. His mouth gaped in shock; now this crushed the blue hero. Amy Rose had just bypassed him like nothing!

She rounded on Knuckles' position as he started to ascend the stairs. Normally, he would have glided to the top of the shrine, but the pain of his aching injuries would have been unbearable. The guardian climbed to the top and caught himself before he fell. He hobbled on his feet, streaming toward the unwanted newcomer.

Knuckles ran over, "…The Master Emerald--!"

"--Is fine."

The crimson echidna paused as the others, Amy, Sonic, and Tails, stopped at the top of the stairs. A lone figure stood with her back to them, gazing at the emerald. She slowly turned to face them. A young echidna with bright turquoise eyes and long robes looked back at them neutrally.

Her long quills grazed the floor and were decorated with beads and feathers. The sun's light caught the beads perfectly so that they sparkled in her quills like little jewels. Her aqua eyes were settled on them coolly. Amy stepped forward appearing relieved, "Ti-tikal!?"

The princess look-alike shook her head and looked at Amy, "No… Meda."

Sonic looked her up and down, "I don't believe that!"

"No one care what you think, idiot hedgehog." The echidna gave him a _very_ familiar icy glare. The blue hero suddenly looked convinced, "…Yep, it's her all right."

Just as the group was familiarizing themselves with Meda's new appearance, Shadow finally appeared. Sonic glanced at his crimson and claret rival smugly; apparently Chaos had kicked his butt too. He was now the slowest in the whole bunch, oh happy day! Sonic finally beat Shadow somewhere!

"Shadow this is Meda," Sonic said with an annoying smugness, "And she…"

"---I heard her you idiot," Shadow growled.

"But how? How are you youthful again?" Tails asked.

"Power of emerald is divided. Me and Turrok have power now. Emerald give new strength." She flexed her arm and looked at her smooth, young skin, "It make me young again."

"Turrok?" Amy inquired.

Knuckles looked at her, "…That was Chaos's name before he became—"

"Chaos?" she finished.

" But the emerald, it did what!?" Scythe hissed.

Tails and Shadow exchanged glances, "So all that new power…"

Sonic rubbed his chin, "Huh, so _that's _what happened to that guy…"

Scythe glared; it seemed as if everyone knew what was going on but him! The most important person here, by the way, "Would you idiots quit speaking in riddles and say what you mean to say!?"

Sonic looked pleased, "My! And aren't _you_ the one with the super high-tech half robotic brain? You haven't figured it out already?"

"…Just say what you mean already, dipstick."

Sonic smiled, "Just wait, Knux is about to ask to lady."

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT! TELL ME ALREADY YOU FREAK!"

Knuckles walked beside the young echidna; indeed she did look like a near-clone of his wife. There was no question who Tikal had inherited her looks from. A chill ran up his spine as Meda looked right at him; it was just_ too_ weird. When Meda looked at him she smirked, already able to recognize his discomfort.

However, her granddaughter's husband posed his question he had been meaning to ask her, "Meda, with all that new power, Turrok is unstoppable. Our blows are powerless against him."

"It is from power of emerald."

Now that Scythe finally had the answer to his inquiry, he looked at Sonic, made sure he had locked gazes with the blue hero then proceeded to flip him off. Knuckles continued, "Okay, but how do we stop him?"

"Is good question big-head."

"You did say that some of the power was transferred into you?" Shadow made his way next to Meda, "Perhaps you should help fight against him."

"Surely if the power of the Master Emerald went into your veins and in his," Knuckles replied, "then its power must have been split equally amongst the two of you!"

"Making you the most dangerous woman alive!" Sonic boomed out dramatically, "…Next to Amy that is."

Just as Amy looked to make a sassy retort, Meda replied, "No."

"What?" Sonic blinked, "No what?"

"What?" Tails asked.

Sonic again, "What?"

"What what?"

"Her."

"Her who?"

"Meda."

"Oh. So?"

"So what?"

"Why did you say 'no what'? That's what I want to know."

Sonic inclined his head, "Why?"

"Sonic!" Amy roared, more irritated than she was confused, "Just answer his question or I'll ask Scythe to beat the stupidity out of you!"

In response the cyborg hedgehog suddenly looked bright and cheery; hurting people was fun. Sonic sighed, "Well in the beginning, she, Meda, said no." he replied, "So I said, 'no what' to her no."

Shadow, who had originally understood Meda's reply narrowed his eyes and responded to the formerly old echidna woman, "What?"

Simultaneously, everyone performed what looked like an 'anime fall', minus Shadow, Knuckles, and Meda. The red warrior was too pissed off to care and the echidna elder was far too stolid. Sonic rolled his eyes, "Shad!? No more confusion!!"

"Enough!" Meda boomed, "I say no helping with fighting Turrok."

"Are you serious?" Amy cried, "He has kidnapped your granddaughter! Do you not know that!?"

"Power of Master Emerald flows through me now," in demonstration, Meda raised both of her hands. The group watched in astonishment as her hands were encompassed with a glowing, green energy.

"But I no wish to fight Chaos. Tikal chose her own path. Tikal chose white bat above grandmother," Meda narrowed her eyes, "Now Tikal must face bad choices on her own."

There was a rift of silence between Meda and the heroes before Sonic decided to break it. More or less he spoke for the entire crowd, "Lady, what in the hell are you talkin' about!? Chaos, Turrok, or whatever you want to call him is a mad twisted psycho!"

"So you're not going to help us get Tikal back?" Cream asked quietly.

"No. Tikal must live by foolish decisions and Tikal must fall by foolish decisions. Never should have chosen white bat over grandmother."

"Then we have no further business here," Shadow stated neutrally, "we must find a route to defeat Chaos."

With that, Shadow turned and began to descend down the long stairway. Before leaving he removed the green Chaos Emerald from its proper podium. He juggled the emerald within his palm; if he was going to find help, then he would need to use Chaos Control for where he was headed. Hesitantly the others glanced at Meda once or twice before they decided to follow Shadow. Knuckles turned toward the young beige echidna one last time.

"…What wrong bighead? Go find wife now, yes?"

Knuckles strolled up to Meda until he was a foot away from her. His fierce, searing glare was nullified by her cool, impartial glaze. They stared at each other for a second longer before Knuckles made the first move.

With a step forward, he swung his fist in a right hook. He swung his blow so it barley missed her face, but Meda didn't even blink. She stared at him silently, awaiting him to explain himself.

"You," Knuckles growled in such a low pitch that Meda had to strain her young ears to catch his words, "If anything happens to Tikal, you can bet you're the first person I'm coming after. First I'll take care of Chaos and then I'm headhunting for your skull."

_"Then wouldn't you be coming for me second_?" Meda stated in ancient echidna.

Knuckles narrowed his eyes, "You know what I mean. But either way, _dead is dead_."

The crimson warrior threw one last sneer before he turned and went on his way. The echidna elder watched his treating form in thoughtful silence. When the last of the group's outlines were specks, Meda narrowed her eyes, "Good. Son need anger to fight Turrok. Turrok strong and Turrok bad man. Save Tikal son, save my daughter."

---

_'No, please no…this can't be true…I can't really be here…'_

Tikal thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown. She instantly recognized these grand ivory walls. It was her palace where she had lived with 'Turrok' in several sets of centuries ago.

She had been here _at least_ seven hundred years ago when she was only a teenager. Tikal closed her eyes as she slumped to the floor, eyes opaque and unseeing. This time there was no one here to save her; no Valor, no Knuckles, no Meda, and no Sol. Why did it seem like everyone she depended on let her down?

The princess swore her heart stopped when Turrok entered the room. She quickly rose to her feet; this jerk wasn't going to see any shred of despair upon her face. Amber eyes locked on her for a moment before he continued around the room.

Smirking, Chaos decided to walk around her in slow, charted circles; he was halfway between evaluating her mental state and halfway between allowing his eyes to fondle her figure, "_Well my princess, it looks as if I've reacquired one thing I've lost. But soon, I shall restore our race back to power, back to the way things used to be when we were young_."

"_What ever do you mean_?" Tikal asked, trying to keep fear out of her voice.

"_I shall remind this earth of our power. It was in a time when echidnas were at the pinnacle, I plan on reviving our old world, a time when ivory temples stood and ebony obelisks towered above trees." _

"_You cannot succeed_," Tikal smiled, "_Knuckles and the others will stop you_."

"_That peasant_?" Chaos chuckled, "_That charlatan, what right does a peasant like him have marrying a princess? He is weak as an echidna! He has been fighting hedgehogs for so long that he barely knows what fighting is_!"

"_Sonic, Shadow_," Tikal hissed, "_They all will stop you! I have seen them and they will stop at nothing to defeat you! Even if it means sacrificing their own lives_!"

"_Hmm_," Chaos narrowed his eyes slightly; an image of the furious black and red hedgehog came into mind.

Subconsciously he rubbed the area where Shadow had jarred him in the stomach. He smiled slightly, "_Your foolish hedgehog friend, the one whose fur is as dark as obsidian and has eyes like fire, he intrigues me_."

Chaos smiled darkly, "_If anyone stands against me, they shall fall. I shall make them all suffer for the pain that foolish hedgehog has subjected me to_."

The tyrant snatched Tikal's face violently. He smiled at the sight of her face puckered within his grasp, "_Fear not wife, for you shall not be alone…too much longer_."

He laughed as she snapped, trying to bite his invading fingers.And with that declaration he turned and left Tikal alone in her large, magnificent bedroom. She sat at the edge of the fountain and glanced at her lonely reflection. She hoped that somehow, her friends would be able to defeat Chaos.

---

"Oh yes, this heat wave is excellent for tanning season."

At the other end of the Earth, where the sun was bright and strong, and zapped the earth with an unholy heat, Julie Robotnik sat face-down in a recliner chair in nothing more than a deep-red bikini and a pair of red sunglasses. Her long, deep cherry hair was in its usual ponytail, where strands of the red silk touched her bare shoulders, and her legs were carelessly entangled in the air.

From existing in the desert, Julie's once milky, pearly skin had gradually settled into a deep gold. And nowadays, whenever she took breaks from her experiments she went outside and tanned; her even, golden tan was starting to turn an attractive light shade of brown.

With her slender build and her amazing tan, no one would believe that the sunbathing belle was actually an ingenious, world-famous scientist. At the moment, the brilliant scientist looked like some sort of passable pin-up girl.

She relaxed happily as the searing sun scorched her tender, tired flesh. It was like being in a sauna, minus the humidity. A timer went off and Julie shut it up instantly with a violent fist. She turned over and rested on her back, allowing the sun to begin baking her flat stomach.

"Oh yeah," she smirked, resting her arms behind her head, "Feels good! Cancer, come hither!"

"Mama! Mama!"

"Hmm?"

Julie elevated her shades and looked forward. Sprinting toward her was a small white hedgehog garbed in a modest French maid outfit. Ceres only stopped when she came before Julie, panting.

Robotnik sat forward, peering at her most precious creation, "Ceres, what's gotten into you? It's at least ninety degrees out here, you shouldn't be running like that out here!"

"Mama," Ceres panted, holding a hand over her heart, "It's Shadow…Here's here! He said its bad news."

With Ceres tugging her forcefully by the hand, the little hedgehog led her creator back to the base. Upon entrance, Julie found Shadow live and in person. He was waiting in the middle of her lobby with a characteristic frown in place. He spun just as she entered the large foyer.

His expression was grim and his eyes were a dark shade of burgundy, "Robotnik, we have problems."

Shadow filled his friend in on the situation; the entire Chaos fiasco: Sol being dethroned as the guardian of the Master Emerald, Chaos dispatching of them all effortlessly, and the kidnapping of Tikal.

He also mentioned Meda, Tikal's grandmother who was fairly hesitant in helping clobber Chaos once and for all. Ceres delivered an ice cold lemonade beverage to Shadow. She was sure that he would turn it away, but he took it and downed the cool beverage without a second thought.

Julie seemed to still be sifting through the story, "This Chaos character, he doesn't seem like the type of person we want holding all that kind of power."

"You got that right," Shadow snorted, "I thought that our best bet against fighting Chaos would be to have Meda combat him, if anything she has the same exact amount of chaotic energy as Chaos, and I believe she's the most skillful combatant on that island."

Julie arched an eyebrow, "Even better than you?"

Shadow bit his lip, "…Possibly. But I doubt that highly."

"Well, I want to meet this woman who can _possibly_ challenge the ultimate life form."

He quickly jeered at her, "I said 'possibly'. That's not a definite answer."

"Well, off the top of my head, I say we have to stop him."

"That's an understatement."

Julie sighed and scratched absently at her head; it was habit of hers to rake her head when she was puzzled, just like it was a habit of Shadow's to narrow his eyes and bite his lower lip when he was in deep thought or vexed, "Honestly, I don't know where to start…"

"Well, how about you mend us up first."

"What?"

Shadow stood up, but not without a few tremors raking through him. As he stood before her, he swayed slightly, as if he was tipsy. Julie's eyebrows ceased together, "Shadow…"

The bright fluorescent lights had finally swept upon his dark frame, revealing all his injuries to the girl. Even though Shadow had rested for a while after his savage encounter with Chaos, his wounds were still prominent.

In fact, if he had walked down any ordinary street in broad daylight, his wounds were so bad that he wouldn't get a few steps without getting stares. Ceres screamed and covered her mouth meanwhile Julie was appalled, terribly concerned, "Shadow, what happened to you? Who did this to you?!"

Shadow however, had his own agenda in mind, "Never mind it…"

"Ceres, go get the first aid kit, now!"

"Julie…"

"And while you're at it, prepare the recovery capsules and start the--"

"_Forget it_!" Shadow shouted vehemently.

Both girls stopped and stared at him. Shadow had even surprised himself with the force of his voice. He didn't know he had that kind of energy available to his voice, "Just…prepare…for the others…"

"Others?"

"Sonic…" Shadow held his head and grimaced, when he reopened his eyes, large, black bubbles rose in his vision. He closed his eyes and reopened them again in an attempt to readjust his vision, "…will be here soon…they were attacked by Chaos…too."

"Ceres, prepare the med wing," Julie commanded, her mirthful voice becoming as sharp and as crisp the tone of a drill sergeant.

---

And in a matter of seconds the Sahara laboratory was in business aiding their friends left from right. Sonic, Shadow, Flash, and Tails were sitting together in a device that looked nothing more than a fancy, high-tech jacuzzi.

The bubbling water was magenta, a blow to their male egos but it was heavenly. Flash sighed contently as the blushing water lapped his chest; it felt so good to his wounds.

"Man, is this damn good or what?" Flash purred; he was with his dad so he could curse as freely as he wished, if he had been with his mom, his language would have been cleaner than pine sol.

"Hell yeah boy," Sonic smirked; see? Like father, like son, "Yo Shadster, is this good or what?"

"It's adequate," in other words, the ultimate one approved.

Scythe walked in the room accompanied by Julie and Ceres. Sonic smiled and waved at him only to receive a glare in return, "Hey Scyther, why don't you join us, the water's fine."

"Yeah, like I'd be willing to short-circuit my robotic ass in that water," Scythe replied none too pleasantly, "Well unlike you fools, Crass or Chaos, or whatever his name is, he broke my arm and I needed Robotech to fix it," he said hoisting a thumb over his shoulder at Julie.

"Robotnik," Julie corrected, "Geez, you're really not good with names are you?"

"She had to fix my arm," Scythe twisted and rolled his mechanical arm, testing its resilience, "the bastard broke it like a toothpick."

Sonic twisted his back in an effort to crack his spine then blinked when he realized Tails was beside him, "What are you doing in here? You didn't even fight Chao-_ass_."

"I know," Tails replied, "But this jacuzzi feels so good! The aerodynamics and mechanics of this contraption are absolutely amazing. My how I wish to investigate it's structuring and skeletal work even further! I---"

"Tails," Sonic said in a deep voice, "If you go off on another geek-rant, I'm going to personally toss you outta here."

"Sorry," Tails smiled sheepishly at Sonic's sharp gaze, "But sometimes I can't help but get excited!"

"Yeah," Sonic grumbled, "Excited over nothing."

Before Sonic and Tails could go deeper into their argument, a high-pitched timer went off and Julie's personal hedgehog assistant entered, "Supper's ready!!"

At this announcement, the rest of the girls, Amy, Cream, Daisy and Sunny, entered the room and took their places around one of Julie's lab tables. Shadow, Sonic, Tails, and Flash dried off hastily before making their way to their seats.

Smiling, the maid hedgehog brought forth a large, roasted pot roast seasoned with all the right toppings. She returned to the kitchen and returned with a picther full of fresh squeezed lemonade.

"This looks pretty good," Shadow said.

"Let's throw down!!" Sonic exclaimed happily, but just as he went for the forks, Amy slapped his hands, "What!?"

"Sonic, we have to wait unitl everyone's here," Amy replied dutifully, "we'll eat when Knuckles, Sol and Maria are present."

With Amy's mentioning of the red guardian's name, it seemed as if she summoned him. Knuckles appeared looking unusually somber as he sat at an open chair. Cream frowned sadly at the open seat next to him; Tikal should be sitting there.

The powerful crimson warrior sighed as melancholy filled him. And who could blame him? With Chaos defeating him and then kidnapping his wife, who could be happy after all that?

"…I'm not hungry," Knuckles replied softly, looking blankly at the delicious meal.

"Knuckles…" Amy frowned thoughtfully.

"But if you want to talk about a plan to defeat Chaos," his expression suddenly turned from sullen to hellish, "then here I am."

"We'll talk during dinner, but first, where's your son?" Julie asked.

"Here's in the back somewhere, Maria's helping him clean his injuries," Knuckles replied softly, "They said not to wait up for them."

Suddenly a loud fitful hacking broke out and Sonic, as well as the others turned to look at Flash, "What's wrong with you? Are you okay? You sound as if you're choking?"

"Oh, I'm fine dad. Just peachy. I guess something must have went down the wrong pipe," Flash laughed nervously as he continued coughing.

Scythe took it upon himself to help Flash out and he started to hit his back. Flash only coughed harder, this time really choking, "There you go little guy. All better now."

"No! Please (_Hack_) stop it! (_Hack)_ You're killing me!!"

---

"Come on Sol, we're almost there."

"…"

Helping her red friend along, Maria halfway dragged Sol to a more private Jacuzzi. It would better for them to have a more secluded setting for a more personal chat. Sol was much more introverted when he was around a crowd. Maria led Sol to the Jacuzzi as cautiously as she could, "There we go…easy does it…almost there."

The batgirl slowly helped ease Sol into the tub of chartreuse bubbling water. After nearly falling into the water herself, Maria and Sol finally accomplished their objective: Sol in the tub and Maria out of the tub.

A content sigh escaped the guardian's lips as he smirked; this water was one of the most relaxing things he had ever felt! The water was warm, but hot enough where it had a pleasant burn to it. And the bubbles massaged the red-furred echidna's sore muscles.

Maria smiled at the sight of his quiet contentment, "Hey, how do you feel, Sol?"

"This…feels…good…" he sighed again and closed his eyes.

"Want me to give you a massage?" Maria asked.

The guardian's blue eyes snapped open, "…Uh, what?"

"A massage," Maria rolled up her sleeves, "Here, let me show you."

If he was in a haze before, Sol was certainly good and alert now. There was no way he could allow her to put those delicate, pretty little hands upon him. Who knows what would happen. _Yeah I do, the beast would be released and I'd probably loose all control. _

"Uh, haha, n-no thanks Maria, I'm fine," Maria frowned as she saw Sol scooting away from her.

"Oh come on, this will only be for a second."

"No really, please don't."

"No really, I insist."

"No I'm good."

"Sol…Sol! Stop moving away! And stay still!"

Maria had been chasing Sol for what seemed like forever; for a guy who was supposed to be hurt and half-dead, he sure had jets on him! The white bat growled as she continued to ignore his protests. Finally she was fed up with his evasive maneuvers and she dove at him. Sol barely managed to move as Maria plunged straight into the hot tub.

"Gaack!!"

Sol covered his face as the warm water splashed each and every way. He slowly lowered his hands from his eyes when he thought the view was safe. His aqua eyes brought him an image of a cursing, spluttering Rouge Maria.

She was soaked: her hair was drooping, her bangs were wet and scattered into her eyes, and her baby-blue sweat suit was now a deep shade of sapphire. She was a mess. Sol chuckled. Scratch that, she was a very big mess. Sol laughed even harder and Maria glared at him indignantly, "And just what are _you _laughing at!?"

"You!!" he pointed at her and burst into a full out howling laughter, "Your outfit absorbed tons of water and you look like a blimp!!"

Maria sneered as she removed the jacket of her now water-soaked sweatsuit, "Kiss it Sol. Kiss it Sol."

"Kiss what?" Sol smiled deceptively innocently. He was naïve, but he wasn't _that_ naïve.

"My ass!"

Frowning, Maria wrung the last droplets of water out of her top. Sol watched her happily until his eyes happened to accidentally rest of her dark tank top-clad chest. Sol's mouth dropped.

Oh my, what was wrong with her chest? It was…well, to be frank, huge! Was it swollen or something!? Had Chaos hit her there? He couldn't distinctly recall her fighting the evil echidna. Or had she always been like that?

The wet, extra clingy top didn't help to hide her voluptuous chest either. Sol only seemed to realize that Maria was ranting at him when she finally stopped her furious chatter. She blinked at him as she noticed his stare, What…?"

She slowly followed his eyes and held up soaked jacket tight around her frame, "W-what are you staring at!?"

"I…uh…" The moment suddenly become too awkward and Sol did the only thing he could think of, "I…gotta go!" And with that, Sol managed to lift himself out of the tub, fall out, slip, slip and fall again and then book it out of the room.

---

"Tails, pass the Chaos Cola, please."

"If I give it to you Sonic, you'll finish it all off!"

"…And the problem is!?"

Shadow sighed; Chaos Cola wasn't something they should be discussing right now. They needed to be talking about Chaos and how to stop that echidna freak of nature. It's a good thing the ultimate one had a daughter who mellowed him out over the years.

Eighteen years ago when he was ruthless and cold-hearted, Shadow probably would have used Chaos Control on both Sonic and Tails by now and sent them to some desolate, time dimension.

"Can we stay on focus here?" Shadow asked with mild irritation, "We need to start planning a course of action against Chaos."

"Well," Tails finished gulping down a large serving of fizzing soda pop, "If you want to sharpen your skills, you could use my training centre."

"Training centre?" Scythe asked with a mouth full of food, " Wherr did ooh ake at?" Daisy frowned, closed Scythe's mouth for him, and then spoke, "Eat first then speak later. That's disgusting."

"I said when did you make a training center?"

"I've built it awhile ago," Tails smiled, "On the weekends Sonic and Flash usually come by and utilize it."

"Yeah Shad, maybe you can join us," Sonic smiled amiably, "Tails' training centre is now built into his workshop. It'll be a good way for you to hone your skills….if you still have them that is."

"Hmph," Shadow narrowed his eyes, "And what will happen when I show you up, faker? But for now, before I embarrass even further, Robotnik, I require your assistance."

All eyes turned to the human girl. Julie blinked as they all caught her with her mouth full, gorging on the delicious dinner, somehow she managed to have stuck two chicken legs into her mouth, "…Eh?"

Shadow snarled; was _anyone_ taking this seriously? "I said I need your help! I came to you because I thought your laboratory may hold a haven of information about the Master Emerald, or Chaos."

Knuckles blinked then gave one of the first smiles he had in awhile, "…Say, that's actually really good thinking."

"I know," the ebony hedgehog with fire-colored eyes smirked.

"With info on the Master Emerald, and Chaos," Tails spoke to himself out loud, "We might be able to find a weakness of his! We can run through Eggman's old files he's kept here at the base!"

"Allright! That sounds like a plan to me!" Sonic cheered.

"So back to my initial inquiry," Shadow turned towards his redhead friend, "How about the files here?"

After swallowing her food, Julie straightened up, "Uh…well…"

Shadow narrowed his eyes; humans, well Julie, only stuttered on her words when she was hiding something, "Well what?"

"I kinda…sorta…don't have anything..."

"This is Eggman's old Sahara Base, so why is nothing here?" Tails asked.

"…Daddy Eggman sold the files off. He auctioned them off to the highest bidder."

"Great, so in essence we're screwed, right!?" Sonic asked, "Chaos is up and about doing who knows what...and we ain't got a way to beat him!!"

"Damnit," Scythe narrowed his eyes, "How is it still possible that Eggman is capable of being able to screw us over even after death!?"

"Well," Tails tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Are there any records of the sales? Like books he kept?"

Julie suddenly popped out of her chair, nearly taking out Amy and Sonic in the process, "Oh! Crap! Wait! Yeah I do! It's around here somewhere..."

The scientist left in a rush and headed over toward one of her cabinets. She began to chuck out random objects, not caring if she hit anyone. Shadow frowned as a book titled, "Biochem is Cool," nearly hit him, "...If you hit me with any of those objects, I swear I'll blow this place up."

With a triumphant cry, Julie spoke out, "Ah! Here it is!"

The redhead rose from her crouched position, with a new sheet of dust covering her, and held up a large gray book. The cover was a little tattered and a few of the pages were tearing, but other than that it was still useable.

"Here we go," The scientist smiled as she brought the book to her friends, "Here's all of father's finacial keepings."

"Really?" Sonic blinked, "Wow, now we'll really know how much he ate!"

"Sonic!!" Amy slapped the back of his head, "Shut up!"

"Ow, geez! Allright, allright!"

The group skimmed through the pages, searching profusely for any record of sold files. The goldenrod fox with keen eyes quickly spotted the information they were questing for, "Ah! Look, there it is! Page 1809."

"On April 25, 2007 memory was sold for two billion dollars," Amy read, her emerald eyes scanning the information.

"...To Jake Axel McCloud of the G.U.N. science foundation," Shadow finished, "Transactions were completed June 25, 2007."

"Two billion dollars!?" Sonic exclaimed, "Damn!"

"Eggman sold those files eighteen years ago?" Knuckles said to himself thoughtfully.

"Cool," Sonic smiled, "So we know who this dude is, but where the hell is he!?"

"Do you know him, Julie?" the golden fox asked.

"Well, not on a personal biasis, but I've read up on his work. He's quite good at what he does.He's into the workings of energy sources and whatnot. And---"

As their conversation went idle, Shadow closed his eyes. Now he had to find a way to track down this Jake McCloud character. He was probably another one of those old, groggy scientists. If the ultimate one was going to find this guy, he'd have to find professional help.

...But where could he find people sufficent enough to track McCloud's labortaory down? Claret eyes snapped open; Shadow knew exactly where he was going, "...I'll be back with the whereabouts on McCloud's lab. Be prepared for my return."

"Shadow, where are you going?" Amy arched an eyebrow.

Living up to his mysterious reputation, Shadow merely smirked in response and with the glinting of the green Chaos Emerald, he was gone.

"...Sorry," Sonic looked unimpressed, "But I'm just too used to his unscheduled disappearances to be phased by it anymore.

---

"Man, don't we have anything to eat around here, besides nanchos and diet Chaos Colas? And beer. Yeah, beer, this place would be hell without it. But seriously, you'd think we'd get some real food around here every now and then." The tall crocodile entered the room as the golden-eyed chameleon spun to face him, "No, we can't afford real food. We're poor, remember?"

"Then get a day job, Epsio."

"This _is _my day job, Vector."

"Then do something else! Work at 7-11, sell your blood, become a stripper! I feel like I'm the only one here bringing in any income. You and that kid are just moochers. Just remember I keep the lights on it this joint!"

"Riight," Espio sighed, "Well then, that explains why we have so many power-outages then. Because _you_ keep the lights on."

Just before Vector could really let his sassy comrade have a piece of his crocodile mind, a small bee with big bubbly eyes appeared, " 'Kay! I just fixed the sewer line!"

Vector frowned, " 'Fixed the sewer line'!? DAMN IT! There's no food, there's no heat or conditioning and we ain't got any workin' toilets!? I say we desert this death trap! Let's let the hobos have this dump!"

Espio smirked, "Well with you living here, I thought the hobos had already inherited this place."

"Okay that's it Eps, I'm gonna kick your mysterious, wannabe ninja gayden ass right here and right now." Charmy blinked and suddenly glanced away, "Did you guys hear that? I think someone knocked on our door."

"No, no, no Charmy, don't go away. I want you to see this," Vector said, "I _want_ you to witness this ass-kickin' I'm about to give Espio."

Espio rolled his eyes before he felt a pressing tingle run down his spine. His senses were suddenly heightened and the ninja was put on red alert. The chameleon instantly uncrossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, "…I sense a new presence."

Both Vector and Charmy fell silent instantly; it was no mysterious between the two that Espio had saved them more than one occasion with the use of his extra sharp senses. So when the usually soft-spoken warrior decided to speak up, even the boisterous crocodile shut up and listened.

The violet chameleon slowly rose from his chair and scanned the room keenly. His golden eyes finally settled on a dark corner of the room, where his senses were screaming at him, demanding that something wasn't right about that one nook of their pad, "Come on out and we won't hurt you."

"…Too badly," Vector growled. A soft chuckle answered the request and a smug ebony and crimson hedgehog stepped out of the shadows, "…Getting a little slow, aren't you Espio?"

The three Chaotic team members relaxed visibly as Vector threw his hands in the air. Espio barely smiled, as Vector continued to curse out Shadow and his mother…if he even had one, "Well, if it isn't Shadow the Hedgehog. And just to be straight, I knew you were eavesdropping the entire time."

"So what are you back here for, Hedgehog?" Vector harrumphed, "I hope you don't need a place to stay 'cause we ain't got the resources for you. We ain't got no real food, our sewer lines are shot and Espio wants to become a stripper. Clearly things have gone to hell around here."

Espio managed to shoot Vector a look as Charmy appeared before Shadow, buzzing around him happily, "Shadow! Yay you're back! Where have ya been, huh? Huh? Huh!? Huh!!?"

"On vacation," Shadow smirked as he oh so nicely sat Charmy down. No sarcasm intended; Shadow merely put his hands on Charmy's shoulders and forced him into a vacant seat, "…Stay."

The kid needed to be subdued before he was buzzing around everywhere, laughing and singing and talking a mile a minute. Whenever Charmy went into his high energy burst mode like that it was dubbed, 'Buzzed'.

_Oh no, he's buzzed again!_ Or as Vector oh so politely put it, 'We're screwed.' Yep, when Charmy went 'buzzed', that cute, big, bubbly-eyed tyke was worse than a pack of kindergartners hyped up on sugar.

Blinking, Charmy watched as Shadow went to fraternize with the adult members of the Chaotix team. The bee sighed; well they're gonna say all that boring adult mumbo jumbo again! I wish I had a cookie. Hey! I can make up a song about a cookie!

"Cookies! Yay! I love cookies! Cookies are good! Cookies, cookies, cookies---"

"Shut your pie hole Charmy." The little bee frowned; he had been subdued. Looks like he'd have to listen to the adults have their boring talk. Vector turned from Charmy and glanced at Shadow, who had engaged a side conversation with the contemplative ninja.

"Yeah I forgot you were on vacation," Vector said, walking in the middle of their talk.

"I didn't."

"…Silence chameleon, so what can we do for ya Shad? If I'm correct you still have a week left of vacation to go." Shadow strolled over towards both Vector and Espio. He took Espio's hand, pried the ninja's fingers open and dropped a single crumbled note within his hands.

"…What is this Shadow, some sort of love note?" Vector asked as he looked over Epsio's shoulder.

"Not exactly, a friend of mine gave me some information. I came to you guys because I know that you're more than capable of tracking this character down," Shadow crossed his arms, "Julie said that we need to find this guy's laboratory."

"Julie?" Vector hiked an eyebrow, "Are you trying to say that your friend is a chick?"

"…Is Julie a man's name?" Shadow frowned slightly. Almost clichéd, a crocodile-like grin slide onto Vector's face. The ultimate one instantly became weary, and with good cause; Vector only smiled like that for malicious reasons.

"Is she hot?"

Shadow shrugged, thinking nothing of it, "For her kind, I guess."

Vector suddenly appeared ten times more interested, "And you haven't introduced me to this chick!? You know that women can't resist me! I'm tall, green and well…ravishingly handsome."

The tall reptile tried to make a dashing pose. Shadow and Epsio merely watched with jaded amusement as Charmy laughed. "Oh here he goes again," Espio rolled his eyes as Charmy giggled. The green reptile flexed his muscles, "And it's no mystery why women are so crazy over yours truly, I'm heroic, strong, and gorgeous."

"…Can we get to the matter at hand here, Romeo!?" Shadow narrowed his eyes, "And besides she's a human."

"No, first we must address this problem _you _got Shadow! First you nab Rouge, then Viola chased you, Starla was crazy for you and even that hunny Ginger was all over you. _Quit bein'greedy and hordin'_ _all the babes to yourself_! Sharing is caring! Sharing _is_ caring!!"

"Jake McCloud?" Espio asked; if Vector wasn't going to be productive, then someone had to be. Espio sat in front of their titron-sized monitor screen and began dabbling away on the keys. Their computer was the only device that operated at maxium capacity in their hideaway.

"Why don't you try one of those online dating services Vector?" Shadow asked.

"…'Cuse me?"

"I said why don't you try---"

"And I said EX_cuse_ me!? What are you tryin' to say!? That I'm a desperate whacko or somethin'!?"

"…Why are you putting words in my mouth?"

"You know its true! You horde all the cute girls or fail to tell me about them! Like, you know what about that one pink hedgehog!? You never told me about her until she was married to that Sonic loser! And that echidna chick! What's her name? Tipi? She thinks Knuckles is a real man, well that's 'cause she never had the pleasure of datin' me!"

"Got it." Those two words from Espio brought both Shadow and Charmy to his side. The ninja smiled slightly as he turned to glance at his approaching comrades, "His laboratory is at the east coast of Westopolis, it's right on the coast of the beach. According to what I just found on this place, it looks like security is dead tight though. You're going to have your hands full infiltrating that place."

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he scanned the information carefully. He backed away slightly, "Got it, thanks for your help Espio." He shook his friend's hand firmly as Espio smirked back, "Welcome Shadow."

"…Oh and Shadow?"

The red streaked halted and turned to look back, "…Please find Vector a date or something. He was bad before, but now he's just bordering desperate."

"...You know what Espio, you can kiss my big, green, scaly ass."

* * *

-**To be continued!**


	9. Infiltration

**UlTrRa**** SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue_

By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Haha…man, I haven't updated in a while. But to make up for that fact it's pretty lengthy. And I was just playing Super Smash bro (_And totally waxed Alicestar_) so I was juiced and put some violence it this chapter. Lol, 'kay here you go. Enjoy!

_---_

_"Is that Scythe?" Tails asked._

_Sonic read the first of many messages and crossed his arms, "Yep, its him all right, I mean who else is talented enough to string that many curse words into a comprehensible sentence."_

_"…I didn't even know some of those words existed…" Amy whispered. _

_---_

Westopolis, it was a city filled with crime and sheathed in animosity. The city itself was a poorly kept wasteland where the sky was filled with layers of pollution and the city was decorated with filth. There was nothing fair about the city of Westopolis, not even its people: the residents could barely stand each other and the police and officials were crooked.

Where Station Square was a beautiful, quiet community, Westopolis was its ugly, poor twin sister. Outside of one of Westopolis' more modern buildings, a blare of green light broke out. The travel of time and space was being manipulated by one hedgehog.

"…SHADOW!!"

The red-streaked hedgehog landed crisply on his feet, "…What?"

Julie was sprawled on the cement muttering curses. While Shadow was used to traveling with Chaos Control, almost more than three-fourths of their group wasn't. Along with the scientist, Amy, Tails, Scythe, Knuckles and Ceres had landed poorly.

"Next time prepare us when you're going to…warp us!!" Julie exclaimed.

Sonic arched an eyebrow at Knuckles, who was slowly rising to his feet, "Come on man, you don't have any excuse."

"I've never used Chaos Control before!"

Amy staggered to her feet, still not used to the powerful teleportation, "…Whoa…"

Ceres popped up happily, although she nearly bowled into Scythe, "Yay! Let's do that again!"

"This isn't a damn picnic," Scythe narrowed his eyes as he poked the white hedgehog in her nose, "We're here to stop Chaos."

As the rest of the group rose to their feet, they turned to gaze at the looming structure before them. The facility was large, and looked as if it was built within the last ten years. The laboratory had a great view of the ugly sea, and its waters were a muddy green.

"So this is the great Jake McCloud's laboratory," Julie stated to herself.

"That's kinda funny," Sonic said, "while this whole city's pretty much crappy. This place looks as if its brand spankin' new."

"Westopolis is a pretty crooked city," Tails replied, then he turned to look at Julie, "So how are we gonna get in there?"

"Why not warp? It got us this far," Knuckles thought.

"Yes and no," the human replied.

"Why not?"

"Because," the redhead unloaded the bag strung to her shoulder and removed a laptop, "We have to load a virus into their security systems first before we can warp there, or they'll detect us instantly."

"Can you really do that?" Sonic's eyes widened; that was going to be cool! If Julie could really infect their systems with a virus, then it would be like one of those movies he saw on TV!

"No. I can't," then the scientist started her computer and turned away, "but he can." Julie smiled as she turned to look at the golden fox. Tails blinked as all eyes were suddenly turned upon him, "Um…"

"I can't create that virus or hack into their systems, but I know you can," Julie handed him her laptop, "Make all hell break loose, Miles."

Tails looked at the sleek laptop within his fingers, "…"

---

The security within the laboratory was no joke. The facility had their security officers working legitimate shifts, cameras were propped up at every corner, and anyone who entered or exited the building went through several identity verification tests in order to go or come. It just seemed suicidal to try to mess with this place.

As the officers were continuing their rounds on the place, the lights within the Westopolis laboratory were suddenly drained as they all turned off one by one. The security guards frowned as they glared at up the ceiling questioningly. The only things they could rely on now were their good ol' walkie-talkies.

"This is Chief Rick in quadrant three. Have any disturbances arisen?"

"_Sergeant Joe from_ _quadrant four reporting in. Nothing suspicious."_

_"Lieutenant Bryson from quadrant two reporting in. Everything's good here."_

_"Officer Johnson here.__ What the hell is up with the lights? Did the scientists forget to pay the electricity bill?"_

A couple of chuckles were heard from the security guards. But just as the air circulating between them turned comfortable, a startled cry was heard, _"Aah! Chief! We're being attacked! Mayday! Mayday!" _

"What's the situation!?"

_"Quadrant one is under attack! We're being attacked by a heg--"_

The officers stared at each other before they took off in the direction of their harmed allies.

---

Shadow waited in the corner of one of the hallways. He juggled and tossed the green Chaos emerald in his hand impatiently as he waited for his friends to wrap things up. He scowled as he felt his temper fraying, "Let's _go_. We have to take care of these fools and find McCloud before their network is up again."

"We only have a window of thirty minutes," Julie answered, hiding behind Shadow. She ducked as another G.U.N. officer was sent flying, "Let's hurry this up! The other officers have got to be coming by now!"

With a sweeping pivot of her hammer, Amy sent another G.U.N. officer into the wall. She wiped her brow and smiled, "Okay! I think we're good here! Everyone's wiped out."

Knuckles glanced behind him at the groaning G.U.N. officials. The red echidna sneered slightly; he never liked those guys anyhow, "Yeah, we've taken care of them. Just get us outta here Shadow."

The black hedgehog nodded his head and quickly stepped forth. The emerald shone as its power was activated, "_Chaos Control_!"

Seconds later, the Chief and his squadron of trained officers broke in. They searched they nook and cranny with their flashlights but found nothing. The chief cursed under his breath and signaled his men to move forth; there was nothing here.

---

"Jacobsen, why is my electricity out?"

"Security's been breached, sir."

"Hmm. Is that so? Find the camera in the lobby, that camera has a back-up generator. It also has access to every camera on every floor," A young man with gelled, gravity-defying tufts of dark blond hair watched the screen carefully.

"Aye sir," his subordinate nodded his head and quickly tinkered on the keys. His boss's blue eyes scanned over data quickly and a pop-up appeared on the screen where a human girl was walking beside a few hedgehogs. The security camera wasn't quite advanced enough to bring audio feedback of their conversation. Jake McCloud crossed his arms as he studied the picture.

"Sir, what do you want us to do? 'Cause it ain't the wizard of Oz they're tryin' to get to."

He narrowed his eyes slightly as his vision fell upon the human girl. The pretty redhead with the dark eyes. Jake rose to his full height, "George, five hedgehogs, a long-snout weasel, a fur ball, and a girl are trying to get to me. If they are able to make it to my lab, then hell, I'll be willing to listen to whatever the want to say. Keep an eye on them."

He turned, his long lab coat fluttering behind him, "Jake!!"

The boy stopped at the door, looking at his associate over him shoulder, "But that doesn't answer me question! What do you want us to do ab'ut these people? They've takin' out the first level security!!"

"…Be a good man and send out the new prototypes, the barracudas. It'll be a great field test for them."

The boy turned and continued on his way unscathed. The automatic door slid closed behind him.

---

"…Honestly I don't understand why we're here," Shadow said softly, "What was wrong with your computer at the Sahara Base?"

"Well, it does not have files on my father's extensive research. And if I remember correctly, doctor McCloud was the man who bought my father's files off of him for a hefty sum of money."

"So he sold his files to the guy we're searching for now?"

"Yup."

"Geez," Sonic moaned, "Even when he's dead he's still making our life hard!"

Scythe chuckled, "That's Eggman for ya."

Amy hiked the hammer over her shoulder and frowned, "Don't speak ill of the dead. Even him."

"Saying a dead man is dead isn't an insult," Sonic shot back.

"Still…" Amy frowned, green eyes glancing forward, "I still don't like talking about him period."

"Yeah, same here, Amy," Tails chimed in.

Shadow's stroll went from an amble to a dead stop. The blue champion happened to be not paying attention at the moment and ran into Shadow. He cursed and glared, "Shad! What gives!?"

"…You didn't hear that?" he asked.

The others glanced around the room, listening for any telltale signs. Tails even went a far as typing on his laptop and running a quick search around their area. A group of six or seven red dots blipped on his screen before the ground shook.

"Well I heard _that_!" Knuckles cried.

Charging down the hallway towards them were a fleet of seven robotic drones. They stood at a towering height of eight feet. These robots looked to be a fierce mixture; they were half robot half canine. These were the Westopolis laboratory's barracudas.

The barracudas growled, their feral snarl sounding unearthly. Both Amy and Tails' faces went white as Julie screamed bloody murder. The scientist fled and hid behind Shadow.

The black and red hedgehog himself was busy glaring at the new foes. Beside him both Sonic and Knuckles had their game-faces on. It was officially game time. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Scythe glared back at the snarling barracudas.

"Doggies?" Ceres asked.

"No! Those are bad, evil, mutant doggies!" Julie screamed as she snatched Ceres closed to her.

The robotic canines growled as thick rivulets of drool slobbered down their faces. For a second there was a staring contest between the hedgehogs and the mechanical monsters. It was as if they were sizing each other up, trying to figure out just who was really the true alpha male.

The battle was sparked as one of the barracudas stepped forth with a bark and they charged together as a unit. Shadow, Knuckles, Sonic, and Scythe rushed forward and met them halfway as they collided.

Shadow found himself on the defensive end as he evaded a swinging metal paw. He sidestepped another swing from the same furious barracuda and rewarded its effort with a painful bicycle kick. The barracuda howled in pain as it staggered backwards.

A second robotic canine circled around him quietly, lurking in the shadows. Amy, Tails, and Julie panicked as the oblivious friend focused his attention elsewhere, "Shadow! Shadow! Behind you! _Behind you_!!"

Shadow turned around just in time to see the barracuda leap at him. He spun to avoid the blow but the canine managed to clamp down into his shoulder. Shadow heard his friends gasp as he himself grimaced from the blow.

"Oh no!" Julie screamed, shaking Tails, "He's gonna diiiiie!!"

The black and red hedgehog snarled and raised his free hand. His palm turned orange as his eyes flared crimson, "Chaos…Spear!"

With a roar Shadow jarred his glowing hand into the canine. The barracuda howled, unleashing an unnerving yowl as it released Shadow and staggered away. It was short circuiting and sparks were flying from its large frame. The barracuda slumped and the bluish light within its eyes died as it could no longer function.

Amy, Ceres and Tails cheered at Shadow's success. The others were handling the barracudas too. Sonic was busy spin-dashing up a storm, Knuckles was throwing his fists in a frenzy and Scythe was having the time of his life wrestling the mechanical canines.

One of the barracudas turned its attention from the blue hedgehog and slowly turned to gaze upon the other group. This group consisted of two hedgehogs, a fox and a human girl. With a snarl, it charged their direction.

Julie blinked and screamed as it plowed toward them. Ceres smiled and waved, "Doggie!"

The barracuda growled and leapt at the white hedgehog. Julie screamed and pulled her creation out of harms way as Tails drove out of the way. With quick reflexes, Amy slammed her hammer into the barracuda to send it reeling into the wall.

The mechanical canine shook its head, snarled then charged right back at them. Tails gulped and looked at the ginger-haired scientist, "Julie! We gotta get Shadow or Sonic over here or its gonna kill us!"

"This overgrown monster…had the _audacity _to leap at my Ceres? My baby!? And think it's gonna get away with that!? I don't think so!" Julie reached into her duffel bag and brandished a shotgun.

Tails' mouth dropped as the scientist turned to the charging barracuda, "Say hello...to my little friend!"

With a cry Julie unloaded shot after shot at the charging barracuda. While she was damaging it, and pumping it with holes and making sparks fly, it still was charging at them. The barracuda leapt at the human girl and would have cleared her if Ceres hadn't stepped in the way.

The child hedgehog morphed her right hand into a red punching glove and sent the barracuda flying with punch, "Hee hee! Ka-powie!"

Knuckles spun around to see the last barracuda land at his feet. With a shrug, he crushed it into oblivion. Sonic and Shadow approached the small group, "Wow, you guys really whooped up on that thing!"

"It was all them," Tails blinked, "Amy whacked that thing…Julie pulled out a gun…and Ceres…I didn't even know she could do that!"

"Yes," Julie tickled the white hedgehog, "She may be cute, but he's deadly. We better get going before they send anymore of those things at us."

They traveled through another long hallway, which as Knuckles pointed out, did all look alike. Tails carefully watched their progress on the laptop. He was following a layout of the laboratory. He showed the laptop monitor to Robotnik who smiled.

Julie looked up, "Okay we're finally in the fifth quadrant! And that means old man Jake his here somewhere! He's in room 203A, not 203A-1, or 204A, but 203A! Okay, start your searching people!"

The team broke off and scattered down the hallway. Shadow, Knuckles, and Scythe veered rightward as Sonic, Tails, Amy, Ceres, and Julie were bound leftward. Meticulously each member scanned the doors, searching for 203A.

Sonic skid to a halt as he read the door number, "Sheesh, all these doors look alike! Well, this is 203A?" The azure champ smirked before he turned and shouted to the others, "Hey! I found it!"

The others fell into place around Sonic as they examined the door. Knuckles looked at the door, "Yep, this is it. Let's go in."

"Hold your horses! I can't run at mach one!" Julie trekked her way from the other end of the corridor to join the others. She stopped and caught her breath, panting. Tails scanned the door, "Hmm, its locked. Go figure."

"Well, there's only one way to handle this then!" Julie cried.

She pumped the shotgun menacingly and shouted, startling the heck out of the rest of her teammates, "Alright, I know you're in here Jakey! Come on out or I'm gonna come in there and shoot!"

A monotone voice answered from the overhead speaker; maybe this quadrant had a working generator, "…And truly that would be amusing to see, because you know shit about using guns."

Julie snarled and looked at Shadow, " Shadow!! Break down the door! _Now!!_ No one talks smack about me and gets away with it without being shot in the ass!"

When Shadow stepped up before the door, it seemed as if the cherry-haired scientists had second thoughts. She put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Wait, Let Scythe do it."

"Why?" Shadow looked back at her.

"Because when he breaks doors down, he does it like he means it. Yeah, he'll throw rage and fury into the mix when he knocks the door down."

"And no one gets pissed-off like Scythe," Sonic replied matter-of-factly.

"Nobody gets angrier better than me," Scythe smiled wickedly. The aforementioned hedgehog smiled as he crackled both sets of knuckles; the first made of bones and the other made of steel. He bust the door down with a good punch from his robotic appendage and screamed, "_I AM the god of fury!_"

Julie stepped into the room and pumped the shotgun again, "Come on out old man! I know you're in here!!" A shadow slipped across the room smoothly. Slowly, stepping into the light the scientist revealed himself.

The redhead scientist gasped as the man stepped before her. In place on an old, wrinkly scientist, a tall young man stepped out before her. She estimated him to be near six feet. He wore a long, white unbuttoned lab coat that nearly dragged on the floor and stared back at her with a neutral glance; impassive, "Hello Julie Robotnik."

Julie choked, _"You're_ Jake McCloud!?"

The boy crossed his arms, "You want me? Well here I am."

Scythe and Sonic exchanged glances.

"…_Easily_ could be an innuendo."

"Yeah, let's not even go there."

"You can't be," Julie gave him the once over, "You're young!" Shadow snapped his head to look at his human friend with a mixture of confusion and exasperation, "…I _thought_ you knew who Jake McCloud was."

"Well no," Julie scratched the back of her head, "I knew about him. I never met him in person." The boy looked away and scoffed, "I knew you were slow, but not to _this _extent."

Julie snarled and pointed the gun back at him, "Make my day dipstick! Keep sayin' the magic words!" Shadow looked from the boy back to his trusted human ally, "Robotnik, so how _do_ you know him? You do know him right!? You act like it."

"This little tightwad has competed against me in countless science conventions. So I guess the pansy went by another alias. He's always downsizing my creations to make up for his sissy low self-esteem. Not once has he said anything good about my projects."

"Well, they're worthless."

"Yeah, and that's why you take second place to my worthless creations. Suck on that, you behemoth!"

Scythe frowned, " 'Behemoth?' Just what kind of nerdy insult is that!?"

The boy snarled, "Regardless, you're just as underhanded as your father is, Robotnik. There's no way you actually found a new energy source from those so called 'Chaos Emeralds.' You're just a lying bitch."

"UP YOURS JACKASS!"

The gun fired and the boy moved surprising fast as the gun went off. Julie blinked in stupor as she held the gun. Amy, Tails, Ceres and Sonic turned to gape at her in shock as Knuckles blinked in mild stupor.

Shadow seemed nonchalant as if he had expected such a thing and Scythe was smiling, delighted with her action. Julie blinked, actually having no real intentions of shooting at him, "…Oops."

Jake rose from ducking and looked at the hole in the wall above his head, then glared back at her icily, "You really are crazy, you know that!?"

"…Fatso!!"

"Look, you two can have your own science war after we take care of Chaos," Shadow looked at Julie. She looked down at him incredulously, "Who's side are you on, Shadow!?"

"Let this answer you question," Shadow turned from Julie and glared angrily at the boy, "You! Human, you have five seconds to get down here before I start tearing your lab apart piece by piece. And when I start, I shall not stop until I, Shadow the Hedgehog, am pleased with my demolition."

Jake stared at him levelly, but started on his way down the stairs. He looked at the black hedgehog with mild interest. So this red-eyed, moody hedgehog was the infamous Shadow he's heard of? Impressive. All while going upon his descent, he scanned the group.

And he easily recognized Sonic; that glory-hound was always in the papers. Beside him was his groupie--whoops, wife who performed heroic deeds on a much lower scale. The fox beside her looked vaguely familiar, although he couldn't place from where exactly.

The tallest and possibly brightest of the animals was Knuckles, who was always nagging about some stupid jewel. Jake didn't know, nor care about who the baby, cutesy white hedgehog was beside Julie. And yes, there was that stupid girl, Robotnik. Another black hedgehog with an ugly scar over an eye glare back at him unimpressed; that guy was familiar too.

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me that Robotnik would align herself with one of the world's greatest murders." He gestured toward the self-dubbed ultimate one.

Shadow narrowed his eyes and smashed his fist into the steel wall. It dented from impact and Shadow turned his eyes to the human boy. "…If I was you, I wouldn't mock one such as myself. Old habits die hard."

He smirked slightly, "Point taken. State your business."

"Apparently one of your computers holds an archive of some sort we require," Shadow looked over is shoulder, "Right?" Julie nodded her head, "Yes."

"…And you think I'm just going to turn them over to you?"

Shadow cracked his knuckles as a devious smiled grew on Scythe's face. Julie looked at them both, then back at him, "Well, I was hoping to do this peacefully. But since you're such a jerk, I'm hoping you'll say no. I want to unleash these two experiments on you."

Jake narrowed his eyes; Julie was pretty sure that he was even more bitter now because he had to negotiate on her terms, "Well, what archives do you want Robotnik?"

"Well, _McCloud_, I want to do a little research on the Chaos Emeralds."

"And just who has actually done experiments on these emeralds that you know about?"

"…My dad, and his father."

McCloud's mood seemed to taper off slightly, "Interesting…"

---

"I hope they finish soon," Tails replied, yawning broadly.

"Well, you know those geek types," Sonic said dismissively, "This may take forever with their always typing on computers and getting excited over nothing but numbers."

Tails glared at him, "Yeah I _do_ know. I'm going to look around the place, if you need me I'll be out in the hallway."

Jake watched silently as Julie dabbled on the keys. He didn't trust the Robotnik girl for squat, so he was right behind her, monitoring her progress. Her fingers raced across the keys expertly as her eyes scanned the endless lines of data.

Julie had been looking through archive after archive for hours now and nothing useful had come up yet. The scientist felt her eyes beginning to become heavy, she barely noticed that she yawned.

"Is all this toiling too much for you to handle Robotnik?"

For a second Julie had forgotten about the young scientist behind her. Throughout the entire duration he had been silent, absorbed in the quest as well. However, sure enough, when Julie spun around in her chair she was met with those cold blue eyes in his stolid face.

"I'll finish from here, since you're obviously tired."

Julie rolled her eyes and returned to her work, "Oh how thoughtful of you Jakey. But you probably just want to find this information because you're actually interested in this."

He narrowed his eyes, "No, I just want you out of here ASAP."

"Yeah, like I believe that one."

A pop-up appeared on the scene and Julie typed in a password. Another pop-up rose and the girl completed the sequence. After the same pop-up appeared again for the umpteenth time, Julie growled and slammed her fist on the keyboard in frustration. Jake jumped back, looking startled by her sudden outburst, "Hey!"

Julie looked up at him; for once the callous boy actually had another emotion on his face beside contempt. He looked mildly annoyed, "Don't treat the lab equipment like that! Do you know how much this stuff costs!?"

Julie smirked, "Oh, what happened to your stuffy, haughty words pretty boy?"

He straightened up, "…Just don't do that again, Robotnik."

Julie looked at the password blog again and cursed, "JEEZ! What is this password!? I've tried everything! Shadow, Scythe, Sonic, even baboon! Everything my dad could possibly think of!"

One of the doors of the laboratory doors opened and Shadow, accompanied by Sonic and Amy, stepped in, "What is your progress Julie?"

"Nothing!" she growled, "I can't hack this code!" The three hedgehogs circled around the large screen. The light of the monitor reflected in their eyes.

"Well then, we need a hacking expert," Sonic replied, "And I know just the guy to do it. We know 'em, we love 'em, he's Tails!"

Julie looked delighted, and jabbed an index finger in the air, almost poking Jake in the face, "Ah! The fox! Yes, call in the fox!"

Shadow turned around, "Call in the fox."

Amy spun around, "Call in the fox!"

Ceres continued the call, "Call in the fox!!"

Sonic nodded his head and hollered in the hallway, "Yo! Call in the fox!!"

Although his voice echoed throughout the hallway, no one continued his call. Sonic looked back the others and smiled. Time passed and nothing happened. Then others stared back at him, irked. Shadow glared back him unimpressed, "Since no one's there, that mean's _you_ go get him personally faker."

Sonic frowned, "Aww, that Sucks!"

---

After calling in the brilliant fox, Tails went to work. While he hated hacking, it was one of his specialties. After spending a good half hour of trying to hack through Eggman's protected files, he finally broke through the first shell.

" The password is 'Ethycs'," Tails said, glancing at the redhead.

Julie typed in the password, "No its not."

"Are you sure?"

Tails typed in the password and frowned, "…Odd."

"Ethycs…" Shadow glanced away, "Now why does that sound familiar?"

Tails' eyes suddenly lit up, "Ethycs! Ethycs!!"

Sonic nodded his head, "Yes Tails, we all know what the word is."

"No! Ethycs! It's 'scythE' backwards! See!" He typed the word into the computer to give them all a visual."

"Scythe!" Amy smiled.

"Cool," Sonic beamed, "Then type the password in!"

Julie dabbled on the buttons and looked up, she choked, "WHAT!? It's no good!!"

Shadow crossed his arms and tapped his fingers in thought, "…Perhaps we should bring him in here."

Julie blinked, "Just where is he?"

"Outside."

"…With who?"

"The guards."

"…THE GUARDS!?" Julie almost fell out of her chair, " WHO LEFT HIM OUT THERE ALONE!?"

Sonic blinked, "What's wrong Jules, he can take care of himself."

"He has no interpersonal skills! He's probably threatened to kill them all by now! Oh! Someone bring him back in here now!!"

---

"And then, BLAM! I slammed his face into the car."

As Sonic skid to a halt, and found a group of guards congregated into a circle. In the midst and above everyone else, Scythe stood with his arms crossed relishing the attention they were giving him.

Somehow Scythe had elevated himself above the crowd on a platform; as if he had made a stage for telling his story.

"You really caught three bank robbers on your own?" One guard asked in awe.

Scythe looked away and scoffed, "I've done ten before."

"And you've crushed a car in with your own hands?" Another asked.

"With my little finger," Scythe nonchalantly raised his pinkie.

"Well," One guard piped up, "I remember one time when I--"

"Okay, settle down junior," Scythe forced him back into the crowd, "I'm telling the stories here."

Off to the side, Sonic found Knuckles gazing away from boredom. The red echidna spotted Sonic then moved toward him expectantly, "Sonic. Finally, someone else to talk with."

The blue wonder hiked a thumb at the stage and Scythe. Knuckles shrugged, "I don't know, he just kinda got caught in the moment and started talking about his favorite subject: himself."

"Well, Julie needs him, we gotta get him off the stage."

"I'm not going to steal his thunder," Knuckles said, "You pull him off stage."

"He's not going to do it without a fight!" Sonic hissed, "And he's half cyborg, if I try to drag him, he'll weigh a ton!"

Knuckles shrugged and Sonic turned to stare at Scythe. Now how would he get Scythe to come off his high horse?

---

The door to the lab was jarred open abruptly and Scythe appeared with a dangerous smile, one that promised no good would come from his next action, "Shadow has decided to finally pronounce his inferiority to me!? It's about damn time but I knew he'd come around to it some time!"

Shadow didn't look amused, "…What?"

"Er, we'll explain later," Sonic laughed nervously at the sight of Shadow's glance.

Scythe walked before six pairs of eyes and they all stared at him with an odd gleam. Now even the usually proud hedgehog felt slightly unnerved, "…What?"

They were all staring at him with oddly blank eyes, "…WHAT!?!?"

Julie sighed, "You'll hate me in the morning but…guys, detain him!" Scythe blinked, "What!? What in the--"

As Sonic linked onto one of Scythe's arms, Shadow took the other. Scythe growled, bewildered and furious began to struggle, "_What the HELL IS THIS_!?"

"Amy, is the lab table ready?"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?"

"Yeah, it is Julie."

"LET ME GO YOU JERKS!!"

With combined efforts, Shadow and Sonic managed to drag the bucking, kicking, cursing hedgehog to the lab table Amy was stationed by. With a tremendous amount of strength, Sonic and Shadow hoisted Scythe onto the table.

Amy strapped him onto the table, locking him into place, "YOU LET ME OUTTA THIS!"

"Sorry, but you wouldn't help us otherwise," Amy grimaced.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? YOU PINK DEVIL!"

Julie, joined by Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Jake all towered above him. The redhead nodded, "Remove his jacket, shoes and gloves, Amy."

Amy peeled away the silver windbreaker, jet-black shoes and gloves as Scythe watched her meticulously. For a second the almost insane, furious glint in his eyes disappeared, "…Is this going to be one of those kinky, yet delightful torture devices that you girls are going to put me through?"

Amy frowned, "No!"

Sonic chuckled, "Get in line buddy. Oh, get in line."

Scythe nodded his head, "Okay…THEN LET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!"

"This is so primal, but something tells me that Scythe wouldn't let us examine him normally," Julie would have sweatdropped.

"YA DAMN RIGHT!"

"Hold on, I'm about to turn him off."

Sonic glanced at Julie skeptically, "What?"

"Hold on," Julie looked past Scythe, ignoring the dirty glare he was giving her. She reached under his chin and suddenly, Scythe's angry glower gave way to a face of drowsiness, then he closed his eyes in the next second. Sonic gasped; appearing both stunned and impressed at the same time, "Whoa!"

"You can turn him off!?" Sonic chuckled at his next words, "And I meant no dirty innuendoes there either!"

Julie rolled her eyes, "Yes you can 'turn him off'," then on a happier note, "And you can plug him in!"

Shadow snorted, "Scythe certainly seems like the perfect appliance."

She pulled out a long black extension cord and felt the temple of his head, once she found what she was looking for, she smiled and plugged the cord in. If Sonic was impressed before, he was ecstatic now, "Wowie!"

Shadow glanced at him, half amused and half skeptical, "'Wowie'?"

"So now we have to look for anything, anything about Scythe that could possibly be a password to enter and find stuff out about Chaos," Tails replied.

Julie looked at his head, searching for any signs as Shadow lifted and examined his feet. Sonic had opted to checking his eyes. Shadow turned to look at him and glared, "Sonic _what _are you doing!?"

"Checking his eyes. Who knows, Egghead might have hidden something in his eyes."

"…Do something useful idiot."

As Amy held one of Scythe arms, she gasped. She turned it slightly seeing silver digits inscribed into his appendage, "This looks like it was branded into him!! How sick is Eggman!"

Sonic sneered, "I hate that guy."

Tails blinked, "Wait, what is that number?"

Sonic noticed that Shadow's gaze was elsewhere. If he didn't know any better, it looked like Shadow was taking a little break. The blue wonder frowned; if he, Sonic the Hedgehog couldn't slack off, then no one else would.

"Hey!" Sonic jabbed Shadow hard in the side with one of Scythe's shoes, "Get back to work!"

Without a single word, Shadow snatched the footwear and stabbed Sonic in the gut with it. The two hedgehogs began another one of their battles, wrestling and trying to strike each other over the head with Scythe's shoe.

It didn't matter that they were kicking, punching, and grappling with each other savagely, it only mattered that they got the shoe and bopped the other hedgehog upside the noggin with it.

The others watched their display silently; Amy looked on, half bewildered and half disgusted with their childish antics, Tails had his arms crossed, looking beyond impatient, the red guardian sighed, knowing that this bout could go on forever.

Ceres blinked, wondering if she could join their game, and Jake had his usual stolid façade present. Although he had a 'you gotta be kidding me' look on his face. Julie seemed amused, as if she wanted to see how long the two hedgehogs would go at it.

"Sonic!" Amy roared, tired of Sonic's lack of shame.

"What?" Sonic cried; already he knew he was defeated.

He glanced at his wife for a split second, then looked at her again. Amy had her arms crossed, the first sign that she was indubitably upset and her mouth was set in a firm straight line, another sign that she displeased.

And no one liked a displeased Amy Rose, or at least a sane person didn't. Her bright emerald irises were a few shades darker than usual and her eyes dared him to do something stupid. _Dared him_.

"Cut that out." Amy narrowed her eyes dangerously, "_Now._"

Sonic's ears flattened against his skull and he dropped the shoe to the floor wordlessly. He glared at Shadow, who happened to be wearing a smug, triumphant sneer on his face and turned to walk toward Amy.

Just as he spun on his heel, a shoe flew and smacked the back of his head. Sonic didn't need tarot cards to know who threw the shoe. He snarled and turned to face Shadow, "_Why…you_--!"

"_Sonic!"_

Grumbling, Sonic walked until he stood beside Amy, then turned so he could glare menacingly at Shadow. The ebony and crimson hedgehog chuckled, feeling that he had bested his favorite foe until he felt someone cuff the back of his head with a crisp, sharp slap. Shadow growled then turned to face Julie, "What was that for!?"

"Shadow, mama's raised you better than that."

"You didn't--"

"What were you zoning out on before Sonic hit you?"

"Well," Shadow said rubbing the back of his head, "I was going to say _that_."

He pointed to the computer monitor and subsequently, everyone turned their heads. On the large monitor were several different pop-ups.

The group approached the screen as Tails took the initiative to read the pop-ups, "'The program user ScYtHetheHeDgEhOg has sent you fifteen different IMs, do you accept?'"

Amy frowned thoughtfully, "What does that mean?"

"Remember when I plugged an amp into the base of Scythe's temple?" Julie asked.

"Yeeeah?" Sonic drew out the word purposefully, awaiting an answer.

"Well, I connected him to my USB port to my computer, so now he's apart of my computer's hard drive," Julie beamed.

Knuckles massaged his temples, "…Damn, I really gotta start learning about technology."

Amy's mouth dropped, "Is that even possible!?"

Julie swung out of the way so that the other could look at the monitor, "Well, have a look-see for yourselves."

Amy took a seat in front of the monitor as the others flocked around her. She grabbed the mouse and clicked on the 'accept' button. Soon the IM pop-up, along with a furious floating Scythe head for an icon appeared with not too nice words in its message.

"Is that Scythe?" Tails asked.

Sonic read the first of many messages and crossed his arms, "Yep, its him all right, I mean who else is talented enough to string that many curse words into a comprehensible sentence."

"…I didn't even _know _some of those words existed…" Amy whispered.

The text IM s followed like so:

_'#$#$$&!!! (_ '

'_I'LL KILL YOU ALL_!'

_' ( '_

'_I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU IDIOTS HOGTIED ME_!'

'_I'LL KICK ALL YOUR ASSES WHEN YOU BRING ME BACK_!'

'_I'M SERIOUS_!'

_'…Hello?'_

_'Yo?'_

_'Hey come on, I wasn't serious.'_

_'…Is anyone there?'_

_'Okay, okay, haha, you got me. Now say something.'_

_'HEY! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!'_

_'TALK TO ME DAMMIT!!'_

_'…Please?'_

Sonic laughed, "I think he's learned his lesson; Ames-hon, why don't you type something in."

A few clicks later, Amy replied to the now cyber Scythe. In a split second later, Scythe replied eagerly. He really was lonely.

**ImAgeniusscientist**: scythe? we're here!

**ScYtHetheHeDgEhOg**Oh, so now you want to respond to me, huh!? Who is this, Sonic? I bet it is, 'cause he's the only one stupid enough to—

**ImAgeniusscientist**: this is his better half.

**ScYtHetheHeDgEhOg**Oh, it's the pink devil.

**ImAgeniusscientist**: call me that again and I'll find more places to shove those plugs. /

**ScYtHetheHeDgEhOg**…You've made your point. (_The floating Scythe icon looks scared_)

**ImAgeniusscientist**: btw that little icon of yours is so cute! lol

**ScYtHetheHeDgEhOg**Oh, uh thanks pinkie. (_The icon smirks knowingly_)

Jake looked at Julie skeptically, "…What?"

The blond didn't blink, "Your screen name is 'ImAgeniusscientist' ?'

Julie grinned at him shamelessly as Jake frowned, "You're something else Robotnik. You really are."

"Scythe is that _really_ you?" Sonic typed.

'_No, it's the boogieman_. _Can't you read the screen name idiot!?_'

"Hold on Amy, I have something to ask him," Tails took the seat as Amy made way for him.

The young fox typed in the following, "Scythe what are those numbers on your arm?"

_'My ID number.__ You know, scientists have this stupid belief of not getting attached to their experiments, so there's my number. Why do you ask?'_

Tails smirked as he continued typing, "Because I think I just solved the mystery."

_'…This must be that puny fox.'_

The fox frowned, "Hey! I'm not puny!"

Tails returned to the pop-up and entered the password and smiled, "Bingo!"

"You got it!?" Julie looked estatic, "Cool! I guess we can release him now."

Julie unplugged Scythe from the computer and the black and silver hedgehog began to regain consciousness. Sonic walked over to him released the belts that held him to the lab table, "Uh, sorry about this Scythe."

Scythe put on his jacket and began to redress, "…I've just been violated."

Tails and Julie were scanning the information reading the gathered knowledge Eggman had placed into his protected files. They read about everything he wrote on: his studies with the Chaos emeralds, his findings on the Master Emerald, and even his minuscule background on Chaos. It was information, but not enough to find a kryptonite of Turrok's.

"So are you telling me," Sonic tapped his chin thoughtfully, "that the Chaos Emeralds are almost as powerful as the Master Emerald?"

"Yes," Julie looked over at him, "In essence they both can be used to nullify each other. But all seven Chaos Emeralds must be activate inorder to equal the abilities of the Master Emerald."

Knuckles shrugged, "Well, I knew that." Shadow roared and was suddenly in Knuckles face, "Then _why _the hell did we just travel up here for, if you could have told us all of this stuff!?"

"Hey, I may know of the Chaos Emeralds but I'm the guardian of, guess what? THE MASTER EMERALD!" Knuckles shouted forcefully into his face.

Amy smiled, "So then, maybe if Sonic or Shadow uses the Chaos emeralds, then they'll be as powerful as Chaos?"

"That's my guess, if that jerk swallowed the power of the Master Emerald, then it should work!"

Tails scanned through another section of information about the Chaos emerald, "So what is he talking about when he says 'Chaotic Energy?'"

"I dunno," Julie shrugged, "Sounds like an energy drink."

"I know what he's talking about," Knuckles said.

"Then, could you enlighten us?" Amy blinked.

"Well, as my father told me as his father told him," Knuckles closed his eyes as if he was traveling back to a more pleasant memory; a time before this current madness, "Every living thing has an aura or an energy signature: plants, animals, anything with life."

"Tikal says that she can even see auras!" Sonic piped up, "She says she can tell a person's character by the colors the auras generate!"

"Yeah," Knuckles smiled at the mentioning of his wife, "But my point is, is that everyone has an aura…and an elect few of us…"

The red guardian narrowed his eyes in concentration and brought his hands forth. The others gathered around Knuckles, who glared hard enough at his hands as if he expected fire to combust at a moment's notice.

But what appeared in the fire's stead was a bright, flashing ball of claret light. Ceres gasped as Amy smiled; with the new glow, her eyes were a shade of dark maroon. With droplets of sweat staining his face, Knuckles smiled, "…have Chaotic energy."

The two human scientists peered closer at the flickering cherry light within Knuckles' palms. Ceres reached her small fingers out toward the light and her hand went right through it, "Wow! It's warm! And it doesn't hurt!"

Julie reached her hand into the burning crimson sphere of energy and withdrew her hand. Ceres was right; the energy was harmless, but pleasantly warm to the touch.

The blond scientist hesitantly drew his hand out toward the energy and barely touched it. Once he withdrew his hand he narrowed his eyes in scrutiny, Julie smiled at him, "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Knuckles, you said was your name?" Jake asked tepidly, "…And just what is this Chaotic energy?"

"Its difficult to explain what it is," Knuckles stared at the red flames of his own energy, his very own life signature, "It's like a physical manifestation of your aura. It's a person's ability to manipulate their energy and harness the powers to their liking."

The guardian further furrowed his brows and the fiery energy rose from his hands and spanned above their heads. With Knuckles' will, the energy began to shift and bend fluidly, as if it were a liquid.

Now, the blond scientist watched with a heavy interest as Julie watched the swirling, twisting energy as gleeful as a young child would watch the exploding of fireworks on the fourth of July.

"That's _effing_ awesome," Julie breathed as Jake cut her a disbelieving glare.

"So this is the manipulation of your life energy?" McCloud asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Knuckles closed his eyes, feeling himself growing exhausted, "Most of us who can use the Chaotic energies tend to manipulate their energies into an attack."

"Chaos Control…" Shadow said to himself softly, he was surprised when he realized that everyone's eyes were on him.

"Yeah."

For once the blond scientist allowed surprise to grace his face; while he may have never encountered Shadow face to face before, he had watched more than enough news to have seen Shadow's teleportation ability, "…That's what Chaos Control was?"

"Can I do that?" Ceres asked with an excited giggle, "Can I make pretty colors in the sky like you, mister red-guy-sir?"

The red guardian smiled at the cute, bubble-eyed hedgehog girl; he didn't even notice when his energy changed a shade of yellow, "I'm not quite sure. Like I said, only a select elite of us can. Before I met Sonic, I thought Tikal and I were the only ones who could."

" 'Kay," Ceres replied, she rocked back on her heels, "So why did the red color turn yellow?"

"Er…" Knuckles glanced up to the swirling energy, which happened to be returning to its natural shade of dark red.

"Because auras also relay a person's feelings," Sonic smiled at the frowning echidna.

"…You know," Julie tapped her chin and smiled, "I could possibly try to create some sort of device that could estimate the levels of Chaotic energy. Maybe it can come in handy against Chaos, eh?"

The red energy disappeared and Knuckles looked faint, he was covered with sweat and looked like he was about to keel over, "Ha…ha, good idea, but let me rest now…exhausted…"

Julie, after searching Jake's lab, much to the stolid scientist's dissatisfaction, found a couple of materials and started concocting a device to measure Chaotic energies. After working and putting her effort and sweat into the machine for hours, Julie had drew out the device's schematics. And that alone took five hours.

Then it took another eight hours to build the contraption. Every now and then the others would pop in: Sonic and Amy would appear for support, Tails would come by to share his ideas with her, Shadow would check in to make sure his friend hadn't gone insane, and Ceres came in with drinks.

But Julie wouldn't go touch anything until she finished. Heck, Julie herself figured that she must have been working at it hard because even mister stinky-poo, Jake, popped in. Of course he insulted her merits as a scientist, but everyone had to show their support somehow. So Julie finally finished the device after a total of thirteen grueling hours.

It was good and done, but to no avail her device wasn't registering anything. It just wouldn't pick up any Chaotic energies. Jake McCloud walked in just to smear some more insults in Julie's face when he saw the redhead sitting in a dark corner of the laboratory.

That site almost made Jake want to laugh. Keyword almost; Jake was too grown and adult to laugh at anything. But it still made him very pleased to see his rival cracking up.

"Well, isn't this a surprise: Julie Robotnik cracking up. I told you to allow a _real_ scientist to create the device. But you know the saying, even beasts know when to give up," and with that, Jake kicked back a cup of dark-brown coffee.

"…Need…sleep," she groaned, her face still buried within her knees.

"What was that? You're pathetic?"

With a hellish scream, Julie chucked a book across the room and slowly staggered over toward her created contraption. Jake blinked and stepped out of her way when he really looked at her. She looked terrible.

Julie looked deathly pale with dark purple bags underneath her eyes, her ponytail was frazzled as strands of once silky, smooth burgundy hair stuck out everywhere. And even the way she walked remained Jake of some undead zombie that decided to move its bones after a millennium rest.

Finally the zombie-Julie stopped her stumbling to loom ominously over the device. Her eyes squinted and with her narrow eyes and pale skin, she looked like some sort of crazed vampire queen, "…I…hate…this…thing…"

Jake, who was fully rested stood next to her and sipped his coffee happily. Julies hissed at him then glared at the device, "Why…won't…this thing…work?"

"…" Jake wasn't going to help her out for squat.

"Shoot, I…I can't find anything to pick up signals with!" Julie cursed.

"Oh that's real good," Julie frowned at Jake's disparagement.

The redhead continued to curse under her breath then she paused when she picked up Shadow in her sights. She was about to curse him out, just because she was frustrated and getting nowhere, but then she saw the beautiful keepsake in his hand: a sparkling, green emerald.

"Holy cow," Julie said, "Shadow, I can't believe you jacked that from some jewelry store."

"Simpleton, this is a Chaos emerald," Shadow spun the jewel on his index finger, "I didn't take it from any measly jewelry store."

"Holy guacamole! Is that the stone you use to do that poof thing!?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, " 'Poof thing'?"

"You know, you shout alakazam! And poof! You warp off somewhere?"

"…You mean 'Chaos control'?" Both Shadow and Jake said at the same time.

"Yeah, that's what I mean! May I see that for a second?"

Shadow handed the stone over to his human friend. With a frown, Julie took the stone and tinkered with her contraption. After a few more seconds of loud, strident banging, Julie faced him with what looked like a gun…a large gun with a pretty green emerald in its center.

"…What the hell is that?" Shadow wheezed.

"I call it…**_the Emerald-lizer_**!!"

Shadow blinked as Jake nearly spit out his black coffee; it had finally happened, Julie Robotnik had gone off the deep end.

"Come on Shadow, let's test this baby out! Use your energy and bring it forth! Make it rise baby! Rise!!"

"…Not if you're going to shoot that emerald out at me."

"I'm not going to shoot an emerald out at you!!"

"...Then why is it loaded in the gun?"

The tired, sleepy scientist suddenly growled like a lion. Shadow jumped away from her as she hurled curse after curse after curse word at him. If Shadow didn't know any better, Julie looked as if she was ready to murder herself a black n' red hedgehog. Jake stepped away from her for safety purposes; she had shot at him already today so he didn't even want to mess with a sleep-deprived Julie Robotnik.

"I've been working on this thing all day! I've lost sleep, I haven't eaten in hours, I broke most of my pretty nails…And dangit, if you don't use your energy…I'll…I'll…"

And just as quickly as her anger rose, she suddenly dropped to the floor and began, not crying, but wailing. She was crying harder than a five-year older who dropped their ice-cream. This time Shadow's mouth dropped; just what was wrong with this chick!?

Blinking, Tails had watched the entire scene. He came by and picked up device. What was it called? The Emerald-lizer? The title was a little on the tacky side, but if the device worked, then the name wouldn't be so stupid.

The goldenrod fox turned and put the device upon Sonic. Tails closed one eye as he peered into the device's eyepiece. Through the viewing scope Sonic was completely red.

"Hey Sonic?" The blue hedgehog turned to look at Tails, "Could you raise your energy for me?"

"Uh…you mean kinda how Knux made that red blob of Chaotic energy juice?"

_Energy juice?_ "…Yeah, that…" Tails was a little confused by that, "But just do it."

Similar to Knuckles, Sonic narrowed his eyes in concentration. A roguish smile broke on his face as he opened his palms and slowly but surely, a cool blue ball of light appeared. At the sight of his Chaotic energy, Sonic smiled.

Tails blinked, "Uh…a number popped up."

"Huh?"

"Hey Julie, I think this Emerald-lizer is working!"

The frazzled redhead picked up her head, "It works!?"

"What was the number?" Sonic asked.

"It reads 350."

"It…It works?" Julie breathed, then she began sobbing again, this time happily, "Oh, it works! It works! My baby's workin'!!"

Shadow sneered at her, "…Get a hold of yourself."

"I know…I'm trying…I'm trying…BUT I'M SO HAPPY!!!"

"Quick, let's gather everyone! We can test it out and see how this thing works!"

---

The entire gang, consisting of Amy, Tails, Ceres, Scythe, Knuckles, Sonic, Shadow and the two humans were gathered around the lab. There was a little excitement in the room now that everyone knew that the gizmo was working. The Emerald-lizer, or whatever the doohickey's stupid name was.

"So Redhead finally got it to work, eh?" Scythe asked.

"Come on Tails! I wanna try it out too!" Amy cried.

"Me too!" Ceres cried out.

"Okay, okay, hold on. Let's do this one at a time," Tails put himself in position then nodded as Scythe fell into the lens' focus, "Give it to me."

With a snarl, Scythe opened his right fist, the side of his body that wasn't robotic, and a silvery flare of energy unfurled in the palm of his hand. Tails clocked it in, "290."

"Is that a good thing, or bad?" Scythe asked.

"Well, just having a number's a good thing," Julie smiled, "But it does measure the strength of Chaotic energy an individual has."

"Wahaha!" Sonic looked smugly at Scythe, "Not bad, not bad Scyther. But it's not _nearly_ as high as my own!"

Scythe muttered dirty curses under his breath, about Sonic and his mother, then crossed his arms. The red lens fell on Amy, who was blinking back, "Okay Amy, you're up."

"Okay!" Amy closed her eyes, and instead of looking tense and focused, she looked serene, at peace. She even had a small smile on her face as the pink, rosy energy manifested within her dainty palms.

Green eyes slowly opened, and the pink flames danced within her eyes, "50." Then the pink energy suddenly exploded violently as Amy looked displeased; instead of being pink, the energy was red and raging, "Fifty!? Isn't that a little low!?"

Sonic chuckled as he patted Amy's shoulder, "It's not bad Amykins, I mean you surely didn't expect to hang with Sonic _the_ Hedgehog, didya?"

"…Get away from me."

Tails turned the Emerald-lizer onto Ceres, who was jumping up and down excitedly, "Me too! Me too! Me too!"

"Uh…I don't get anything. I read 0."

Ceres stopped jumping and looked sad, "…Oh."

"Don't worry baby," Julie smiled, "I don't have any energy either."

The lens focused on Knuckles, "Here, let me see you next Knuckles."

The guardian focused his energies as he did earlier, and the flare of red appeared in his palm. Sonic smirked at Knuckles, "Aww, that's cute, I bet his energy's going to be at…what? Maybe 250? 260? Maybe even 300, and that's generous."

"Wow, 890."

Sonic's mouth dropped, "What!?"

Knuckles looked at his blue friend and grinned, Sonic frowned, "That stupid thing must be broken! Try it out on Shadow."

The dark hedgehog arched an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because I said so! Tails, do it!"

With a shrug Tails turned to look at Shadow. Shadow narrowed his eyes and crouched slightly. He could feel his temperature rising from the building power as his quills began to stand on end.

In his hands was a product of his very own life energy, a signal no one else would be able to produce. Shadow stared at the raging orange vigor within his grasp, if he wanted to, he could mold that power into a powerful Chaos Spear. But right now the energy would idle until its master desired otherwise.

Tails blinked, "Wow."

"What is it? 500?"

"Uh, higher."

Sonic looked furious, "Is that so!? Well what is it?!"

Tails gulped, then looked at everyone before settling on Shadow, "50,000."

After setting it on Shadow for a minute, the device overloaded and it exploded. Tails stared speechlessly at the broken device within his hands. Julie Robotnik blinked, blinked again and then fell to the floor and starting wailing again.

"Something tells me that this'll be a huge help against Chaos," Sonic said to Knuckles.

"I agree."

"Waahhh!"

Shadow glared at his human friend, "I _thought_ I said to get a hold of yourself!?"

Jake stepped forth, "…Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles."

The two heroes spun to face the scientist. His face was emotionless as usual as he stared at them, " You and your friends have genuinely intrigued me. I can now assure you that the Westopolios laboratory is willing to fund your research. We will back your quests unconditionally. Whatever you need, we will try to see it done as best as we can."

He raised his hand and extended it toward them. Shadow and Knuckles glanced at each other; they may not like the dogmatic scientist, but what could they loose? A slight smirk curled on Knuckles lips as he nodded his head at Shadow. The black hedgehog turned and gripped Jake's hand.

They shook and it was a done deal.

* * *

**-To be continued!**


	10. Robotnik, Julie

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Wow, I haven't updated this bad boy in awhile! Sorry for the delay, but with all the reviews… I'm pumped up to write! But yeah, enjoy the long chapter goodness! I'll have the next chapter up pretty quick. I'm halfway through writing it already!

---

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

_Robotnik, Julie _

In a blitz of green energy, Chaos appeared. The orange echidna stood before the crown of Angel Island; he was front of the Master Emerald's shrine. He didn't take notice of the beautiful green grass, the opal clouds in the sapphire sky or the beautiful lookout over the sea. It mattered not to him. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned a ghostly shade of white.

Power, he needed more power if he wished to have unrivaled strength. He closed his amber eyes for a second as he pictured that foolish, filthy black and red hedgehog. The strength of his attack was a glitch compared to his own strength, no real threat.

But Chaos wasn't as foolhardy as the others believed him to be. He knew he had to wipe out that black hedgehog before he manifested into a threat. _That hedgehog had a decent amount of Chaotic energy. And so did that young bat. They do not rival my strength, but I must deal with them accordingly. _

His amber eyes slowly opened and he glanced to the top of the shrine. He knew Meda was there, sitting at the top of the shrine. He knew she was nearby and Meda knew Chaos was nearby. It was a mutual relationship.

Turrok slowly ascended the stairwell, slowly making his way up to where the Master Emerald sat. The god of destruction's eyes narrowed at the sight of the young echidna. She was standing beside the Master Emerald with a large walking staff in her hand.

If he didn't know any better he would think she was Tikal, but the way she carried herself, the atmosphere around her proved that she wasn't the echidna princess. Where Tikal was quiet and diffident, this echidna was bold and fierce. She was staring Chaos _right_ in his eyes.

"Meda?" The way he phrased the question made it sound as if it was a statement. But he was still testing the water.

"Turrok." She confirmed his answer. He eyed the echidna chief momentarily before he smirked, _"Well, apparently the Master Emerald's powers have turned you from a shriveled prune into a moist peach." _

_"Why are you here?"_ Meda narrowed her eyes, _"Certainly you haven't come all this way just to pay me compliments." _

"_Insightful as always," _Chaos still had a smirk on his face, "_However I have returned to take the Master Emerald's complete power. As the current guardian, I need it at my whim." _

"_Fortunately, that I cannot allow," _the echidna elder replied.

_"And why is that?" _

_"For one to claim himself as the guardian of the Master Emerald, you know little of its proceedings," _Turrok narrowed his eyes slightly, _"It is forbidden for anyone to take, or even attempt to absorb the Master Emerald's complete energy. Surely you are not attempting to take all of the Master Emerald's power now are you Turrok?" _

_"No. But I do require more than I have taken." _

Turrok removed his glance from Meda and went to stand before the Master Emerald. It was a faint green with its glow whickering faintly. With all of its energy, the emerald would have been lustrous, glowing garishly.

At Chaos's approach, Meda noticed that the emerald dimmed slightly. The echidna chief narrowed her eyes as she focused back on the approaching guardian. Before he could reach the emerald, Meda stepped before him.

"_What is it _now,_ Meda?" _

_"Yet again I ask: why have you come here?" _

_"As much as your foolish little inquires amuse me, now is not the time. Remove yourself." _

_"If you wish to have the power of the Master Emerald, again I refuse you." _

_"…Now why would you do that!?" _This time Chaos seemed to have lost his mirth.

The young chief smirked back as she flipped her staff within her hands, _"Surely you know why I cannot allow you to do this." _

_"Why!? Why NOT you senile, foolish old woman!?" _Chaos said through his teeth.

_"Well another rule any _true_ guardian would know, is that I cannot allow you to absorb the Master Emerald because of checks and balances. Check and balances are--" _

_"I know what checks and balances are you old goat!" _

Meda feigned shock, "_Oh? So now I'm old? I thought you said I was a ripe peach?" _

_"Stop wasting my time and tell me why I cannot have the power of the Master Emerald!" _

_"Well, as of right now, both you and I have the same amount of Chaotic energy," _Meda smiled at him with a false charm, _"And since no one can be the most powerful, you cannot have the emerald's power." _

Chaos narrowed his eyes, evaluating her for a second, "_…I see…" _Meda turned her back to him for a second with a smile on her face, _"…Very well then. But I shall require power. Perhaps that of…oh, the Chaos Emeralds?" _

The elder chief frowned; Chaos had found a loophole to her plan. She slowly turned around and saw Chaos plucking the emeralds from their assigned pillars. Meda's mind was running in overdrive, trying to formulate a plot to stop him from gaining another large sum of power.

She clenched the staff tightly in her hands and narrowed her eyes. She had to do something or Chaos would transform into a very potent being, one that no one would be able to stop. Just when she was about to speak out, Turrok turned to look at her, "…_Where is the last emerald?" _

"_What?" _

_"There are only six emeralds here. In order to use their power, I need all seven!" _Chaos hissed with a rising anger.

Meda blinked. Where was the last Chaos Emerald? She believed that specifically the green gem was missing out of the set. She blinked as an image of a black and red hedgehog came to mind.

She remembered her granddaughter's husband, the blue fool, the fox, the pink hedgehog and the red and black one who had visited the shrine. The aqua-eyed elder recalled the hedgehog picking up the emerald before he and his friends disappeared with the technique she recognized as Chaos control. Meda smirked, _'So, those nuisances really were good for something.'_

_"I do not know_," Meda replied, smiling, "_Perhaps it just…disappeared." _

_"I do not enjoy spending unnecessary time with you, old hag," _Turrok spat, his eyes gleaming amber_, "I am more than sure that you are aware of the location of the last emerald. And to pay for your arrogance, you shall repay your insolence through your granddaughter's tears." _

Meda's smile vanished quickly. Though her young face held an emotionless state, her knuckles were white from her tight grip around her staff. Tikal may have screwed up by allowing Maria into their family, but she was still her granddaughter.

The echidna could remember when Tikal was nothing more than a small infant who could barely get around on her two pudgy little legs. Then that cute tot grew little an adorable girl and that cute girl grew into the attractive young woman she knew today.

How could she allow a bastard like Turrok to harm her own blood? The same sweet girl who inherited Meda's aqua eyes. The echidna elder narrowed her eyes, "_Soon, your power shall end. Your sun is rising, but soon, it shall be dusk for you and your plans. Pray that I am not the one who brings your demise." _

Turrok smiled at her darkly, and after having one last silent face-off. Turrok used Chaos Control and disappeared just as quickly as he reappeared.

_--- _

"So it really makes you wonder," Tails began as if he was in deep contemplation, "Did the chicken or the egg come first?"

"Or the Chaos Emerald," Sonic chuckled, laughing at his own humor.

"…" The group stared at him like he was an idiot.

"What!? I was joking! JOKING! J-o-k-i-n-g! Get bent you guys!"

The large group of assembled heroes were making their last preparations for their departure to Angel Island, Jake especially. The tall blond had notified his subordinates of his sudden departure. McCloud assured them that his leave would be brief and it was definitely business orientated.

While he was giving directions in his leave of absence, McCloud was quite displeased to find that his assistants weren't completely listening to him. The blonde's jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "I'm sorry, am I _boring_ you all to death!?"

The assembled group of assistants before him instantly snapped to, weary of an ireful Jake McCloud. While the young McCloud was brilliant, he was also very well known for his terrible temper. He was cool as an ice cube most of the time, but he sure didn't have a problem unleashing his wrath or frustration; in fact, it was a pastime of his.

"N-n-n-no, sir," one of his assistants barely stuttered his response out, but he only managed to irritate Jake further.

"Well then, what is so important for all of you _not_ to be listening to me?" McCloud's voice was monotone, but it was iced with a thick layer of irritation.

A man behind the first speaker slowly raised his hand and pointed. Jake turned to see that his assistant was pointing to a nearly crimson-haired woman of slender build. She was currently laughing at the antics of a blue, chirpy hedgehog.

McCloud slowly turned to face his workers, scowling at them disbelievingly, "…I truly hope you are pulling my leg."

"D-Do you know her sir?" One man asked with a bright blush on his face.

"C-could you introduce me to her sir?" another asked.

"Yeah me too!"

"And don't forget me sir!"

"Count me in too!"

For a split second, the serious McCloud protégé looked stunned as his men had made a growing clamor over that stupid, tactless Robotnik girl. When he seemed to remember who he was, Jake's face become stone again, "…You all have until the count of ten before I release the barracudas."

"What was that sir?"

"Ten…"

"Huh? What did he say?"

"Nine…"

"I don't get--"

"Eight."

"Oh! I think he wants us to run!"

"Seven…"

"Oh crap…"

The men instantly high-tailed it out of there like they were running for their lives. Something about the sight of seeing them flee made just the slightest smirk appear on Jake's face. He turned and brought himself over to the object of their attention.

Julie spun to face him with a smile, "Done already, stiffo?"

The golden-haired boy frowned, just _what_ in the world did they see in her!? In this crazed nut-ball? This certified screw-bag!? She was the only person who had the audacity to insult Jake Axel McCloud, one of the top scientists in Westopolis.

"…Just hurry up and take us out of here," he deadpanned.

"Aye Aye capt'n!" Julie saluted him and when she turned her back to him, she missed one of his rare 'WTF!?' faces, "Shadow! You heard el stiffo over here! Get us outta here, stat!"

_--- _

Flash stood outside with a healthy smile on his face. The drawstrings on his green hooded sweater were gently levitated by the wind. With his arms on his hips he sighed; the day was beautiful: there was a bright blue sky plumped with fluffy clumps of clouds, thick thatches of green grass and flowers.

And since he happened to be close enough to the Master Emerald, he was able to see the beautiful, sparkling sapphire sea. Flash smiled wistfully; if he had a pair of swim trunks he'd be swimming in there right now! Unlike his father, Sonic Flash Hedgehog couldn't get enough of water.

"Huh?" Flash squinted his eyes and elevated his hand to shield the sun from his eyes. Were storm clouds coming in the horizon? Too bad, it seemed like it was going to be a nice day. He and Maria could have taken a cool dip in the sea together.

But something more twisted was coming his way, he watched as the blue-black, bruised-looking clouds began to set forth, and the sea's color slowly drained into a solid pitch-black. Soon the light, gentle wind transformed into a full-out gale.

He stepped back in recoil at the sudden change in the weather. No, it wasn't just the weather that changed, but the entire atmosphere had twisted and shifted into something ugly. It was as if Angel Island had suddenly started to decay.

Flash gaped agog, as the dark clouds began to roll through the murky sky in swift clusters and he watched as the dark waters churned and lashed violently, as if the sea was disconcerted. Just as the athlete took a step back in shock, the ground began to shake. Flash stared at the ground seconds before he was knocked off of his feet.

He tried several times to find his balance, but it was pointless. He crawled to the top, the pinnacle of the Master Emerald shrine and gasped at the sight. He finally managed to make it to his feet as he watched the trees starting to crash down, birds fled from their homes and into the sky feverishly, animals scattered out of the green forest.

Flash even noticed fissures starting to break forth within the earth's crust. Multiple cracks rippled and spread through the island infectiously. One of the newly formed splits even started to tear the island apart. As the earth broke and cracked, Flash swore that he heard a low moan rising from the island as if it was in pain.

The sapphire-blue hedgehog tripped over his own feet and fell, but before he hit the ground, he grabbed onto the master emerald. _'If worst comes to worst, I'm right next to the Master Emerald…S-surely it could help me…somehow…' _

The rough wind ripped his long quills out of his face as he glanced over his shoulder. There he saw Echidnas' beautiful stone home trembling, as if threatening to collapse. His green-gold eyes went wide; _oh no! Maria and Sol are in there! _

"Maria! Sol! Get outta there!" he screamed, but it was no use, the moan the island was emitting was drowning out his voice.

One moment the Echidna's stone house was there, then the next it conflagrated. Jade eyes grew wide at the sight of the beautiful house exploding, ripping apart viciously by an unknown force. The only thing remaining of the house was smoke, debris and the skeleton of where the complete house used to stand.

Flash stared into the sky blankly, a solid horror heavy on his face. His grip on the pulsing, warm, king emerald tightened, '_Maria…Sol…No, please tell me they aren't…they can't be de…dead…' _

Then he squeezed his eyes tight as he bared his teeth; he did anything to keep the tears from coming out, '_This can't be happening, it just can't be! This isn't true! This isn't true!!' _

"I…Sol…Maria…damn it," he whispered as tears started to roll down his face.

He looked into the Master Emerald for a moment; it was the only thing he could hang onto, it was the only thing he had left now. He lowered his head, leaning the top of his skull against the emerald, and allowed the tears to drip from his face.

As he choked back his sobs the emerald hummed with warmth, glowing a blue shade that mirrored the coat of his sapphire fur. Then the emerald blazed, it changed from being a comfortable warmth until it burned to the point where it was unbearably blistering.

Flash cried out as he eagerly released the emerald and moved away from it slightly. The emperor of all jewels was acting peculiarly, it was flashing agitatedly, blinking rapidly. The stone was flickering on and off. It went from being dead black until it was an orange, ochre color.

He stared at the stone uncomprehendingly, wondering just what it the world was it doing. Flash removed his gaze from the emerald when he caught sight of an approaching, well-built figure.

The blue hedgehog felt his stomach turn uneasily as he recognized the newcomer. It was Chaos himself. The god of destruction slowly walked up the stairs leading to the Master emerald regally.

At first his expression was stolid, as if his face had been carved right out of gravel, but when he was finally within reach of the emerald, his expression twisted sinisterly into what looked like satisfaction.

He stepped right before the emerald looking terribly triumphant. Flash glanced from the echidna, who seemed not to even notice him, and looked at the emerald. Now the emerald was blinking twice as fast, as if it were in a frenzy. Flash felt himself go cold; _the Master Emerald had been trying to warn him_.

At the sound of malignant laughter, Flash instantly looked dead at Chaos. The orange echidna laughed again, but louder and more jubilantly at his obvious triumph. He licked his lips before he grabbed onto the emerald.

The jewel flickered faster for a few moments longer before its blinking pulse died completely. Flash watched in horror as the stone was slowly being washed black. The dark color was traveling, running through the stone as if it were ink. When the emerald turned completely ebony, tainted by Chaos, Flash quickly glanced at the echidna.

_Now_ Chaos was looking at him. His eyes were completely black as he smiled at the horrified youth. Sonic Flash scooted away from him as Chaos' dark smiled spread venomously, "Now I am complete! _I am complete_! No force on this miserable planet shall stop me! Pathetic hedgehog, you poor excuse of a rodent, begone!"

Turrok stuck his hand forth and sent a wave of green energy at Flash. The youth had no time to react and he found himself soaring through the air, right off of the Master Emerald's shrine. He landed with a painful thump and did his best to bite back a scream.

Flash groaned, and cracked an eye open to glance at Chaos. The tyrannical echidna smiled down at him immorally. But what surprised the blue hedgehog was when Sol strolled up next to him. Together they both shared that same evil smile.

"S-Sol!?" Flash cried out.

Sensing that someone was near him, Flash turned around and saw Maria right behind him. Flash quickly tried to rise to his feet, "M-Maria!"

He stood up shakily and stared at her neutral face. If anything, he had to protect Maria from Chaos. Whatever he did to Sol, his best friend was gone. Like Chaos his eyes were completely black and his smile was poisonous.

"Don't worry Maria, I'll keep you safe," he growled, turning to look back at the two echidnas.

"No you won't." her voice sounded dead.

"What?" Flash spun to face her.

"You can't even protect yourself, Flash. You're too weak for me." She lowered her head

"What!? Maria, don't be afraid, I'll take care of them, you just run! Run, please!"

"I'm going to join Sol. He's much stronger than you'll ever be." Flash looked shocked, as if she had slapped him, "You never were good enough for me, you reject."

This time, when Maria looked up, her beautiful fuchsia irises were gone and her eyes were completely black. Flash stepped away from her in horror as she smiled darkly; the same smile Chaos and Sol wore.

She was gone, his Rouge Maria was gone. Before Flash could step away from her, she leaned forward with a poisonous smile on her face, "Oh look, he's sad. I think I broke his little heart."

"I think the fool is going to run," Chaos said amused.

Flash shivered, trembling from everything but the cold. He glanced at Maria one last time before he took off. Just as he took two steps, he felt a strong grip grab his sleeve. His face paled when he saw Maria's own comely face inches from his, "Where are you going, _Flashy_!? I thought you liked me? Don't you think I'm pretty?"

In the background Flash could hear the derisive laughter of Chaos and Sol. The young hedgehog struggled within her grasp as she locked down. Grimacing, Flash struggled as her face drew closer, "What's wrong? I thought you'd like it if I had my hands on you."

With a dirty smile, one that Flash hadn't seen her make, Maria closed her eyes and licked the side of his face. Flash instantly put his motions into overdrive and managed to put himself out of his green top. After falling, Flash stumbled but got to his feet to run.

He glanced over his shoulder at Maria's disappearing frame. He turned around to look forward and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the black-eyed girl standing in front of him again.

"Scared? Well, if that's the case, then you won't be needing this anymore." Flash gasped as Maria leaned forward and shoved her hand straight through his sternum. Flash gasped as he felt pain lance through his chest. He stumbled backwards as Maria smiled. She raised her hand and showed him his most prized muscle.

His heart.

Flash glanced at his torso and saw a gaping hole. He stumbled away in confusion and fear, wondering how it was possible to have an empty hole where is heart was. He felt a scream tear from his mouth; it was shrill and strident, marking the sky with his fear and pain commingled in one terrible noise. He suddenly felt his systems closing off as he dropped to his knees.

---

"Flash, Flash! Flash!!"

The blue hedgehog groaned as he opened his eyes. Maria was towering over him, glancing at him skeptically. The blue hedgehog jumped seeing her. Maria backed away him slightly.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked as he stared at her like she was a ghost.

"It was a dream. A really bad dream…" Flash shook his head, "You _are _Maria…right?"

Maria blinked. Then blinked again, "Of course. Who else would I be, Sol!? I--"

The white bat squealed when suddenly Flash reached out and tickled her neck. Shivers crawled down her spine and she hastily launched a fist into Flash's gut. The blue hedgehog coughed and spluttered but he smiled, as Maria loomed over him ominously, "What the hell!? You know I _detest _being tickled!"

"Yep…" Flash hacked, "you're…you all right, savage as hell."

"…Do you want to die _today_?"

"Hey!" Daisy, along with her gray-eyed daughter, appeared, "The others are back!"

Flash and Maria exchanged looks before they shared smiles, "Cool."

"Awesome!"

The two youths went outside to join the two yellow hedgehogs. Outside the whole gang was back, and then some! Maria recognized the chatty redhead; she was like one of her dad's best friends.

And that's surprising; in most cases Shadow couldn't stand humans. Maria also liked Julie; the girl was funny, lively, a little bit eccentric, but all in all, she was trustworthy. Her purple eyes moved off of Julie, who was already engaged in another conversation, and she glanced at the other human. Unlike Robotnik, who was chirper and welcoming, he was reserved and cold.

He kept away from the others and gauged them, as if he was trying to study them for any signs of weakness. If Julie was the sun, bright, warm and hot to the touch, then this new guy was the moon, cool, dark, impassive and mystifying.

"Ah Maria!" the white bat snapped out of her reverie and glanced at the approaching redhead.

"Hey Julie!" Alongside of the slender scientist was a small white hedgehog, waddling beside her. Ceres smiled at Maria brightly and waved to her, "Hiya Maria!"

"Ceres! Every time I see you, you get so much cuter!"

While their congregation seemed merry enough: chatty, loud conversations, smiled and laughter; Sonic Flash saw behind the ruse immediately. This fake, pseudo comforting reminded him of the atmosphere of a funeral. Yeah, that's what this forced happiness was similar to; a funeral.

Luckily in his short eighteen years Flash had only experienced one funeral. The funeral was for a great uncle of his who had claimed Sonic as his favorite nephew. At the time of the funeral service Flash was fourteen and he remembered that miserable day perfectly. The day was ugly and rainy that cold morning.

Flash remembered watching his father carrying the sleek casket out into the storming weather. That was the only day he had seen his strong, happy-go-lucky father break down with tears. After the funeral, unknown relatives had told Flash that his father was not only named after his newly deceased uncle, but Sonic was a near clone of him as well.

"What's going to happen?" Flash asked himself. Maria's keen ears picked up his question and she glanced over at her friend, "Huh? What was that, Flashy?"

"Don't you sense it?" he whispered, "Don't you feel it? It seems as if something bad is going to happen. There's something the adults aren't telling us."

The albino bat gauged her friend's profile for a second before she gazed away wistfully. Flash always did seem to pick up things quicker than she did. In his life, Sonic Flash was like a good chess player; he was able to anticipate moves and events before they happened.

That was also one of the main reasons why he was such a great football player; where his opponent would charge at him head-on, Flash would already be thinking three moves ahead of him.

This reflection about her best friend made Maria snort; whether he would admit it or not, Flash was some sort of genius. And as for Maria herself…well…she wasn't dumb. It just took a little longer for the lights to come on, that's all.

Maria watched as the adults congregated into the house. She watched as her uncle Knuckles walked into his home with a zombie-like look about him. The pallid bat was pretty sure that no one be happy if their mate was kidnapped and at the mercy of a bloodthirsty, licentious echidna.

Well, Maria really wanted to know what was going on, so she sprinted forward until she matched strides with her dad, "Hey dad, what's going on? And who's the new guy?" Rouge Maria motioned to Jake.

"He's a scientist from Westopolis," Shadow replied, "He's come to help us out against Chaos. Wait out here with the other kids."

"But---!"

The look Shadow shot her left no room for dispute. With disdain, Maria watched as the adults filed in the house. She groaned; boy, her dad should be a politician! He can both answer and yet dodge a question at the same time. Shadow never actually explained _what_ they were planning.

Maria sneered slightly; oh lemme guess? This was one of those 'it's too dangerous for you kids' things. The bat-hedgehog hybrid glanced at her hedgehog friend and caught Flash's eyes. Judging from the slightly miffed expression upon his face, it seemed that they both were thinking along the same lines.

"They're doing it again," Sunny groaned, "Treating us like babies."

"…Jerks…" Maria hissed.

"…" Sol remained silent but wasn't forgoing frowning.

"Old, rotten…frickers…" Flash wasn't above swearing, but he wasn't going to do it in little Sunny's presence."

Just as the tension and frustration was beginning to grow, Ceres skipped over to Flash and poked him in his shoulder, "Tag! You're it!" Her innocent action managed to deflate the tension as the teens all exchanged weary glances at each other.

"…"

"…Well, you're it, Flash."

"…Sol, just shut up."

_--- _

With a muffled groan, Tikal slowly rose from her bed. She didn't even bother to untangle herself from the slew of white sheets. Chaos must have been in a very congenial mood because all his attempts at courting the fair princess so far were…well, mild.

The heiress to the echidna throne slowly sat forward. She stretched her back and yawned, feeling the bones in her vertebrae pop and her muscles stretch. Tikal ran a hand through her disheveled locks as she tried to wake herself.

Tikal rose to her feet and made her way to the tall ivory fountain. She glanced at herself in the amethyst-colored water as she pulled her quills back into a thick bun. The blueblood hadn't even bothered removing her clothes for the evening; Chaos was lurking around and she certainly wasn't going to give him anything to look at!

With a sigh, Tikal cupped her palms and scooped up a handful of the cool lavender liquid. Just as she began rinsing her face, the double-door to her room opened. Tikal gasped and spun around angrily, "_I thought I said that I do not wish to see your face! You--" _

The very breath that fueled her angry words died. Clear crystalline eyes widened in shock at the approaching figure. Slowly making his way toward the crown princess was not Turrok, or Chaos but he was…

"K-Knuckles!?" Tikal gasped.

_--- _

As the others were making their way to seats around Knuckles' small coffee table, a gift from Amy, Shadow immediately stepped before Julie. The nearly ruby-haired scientist blinked, "What is it Shadow?"

The self-claimed ultimate one (A/N mid-thought: And he is…most of the time, but _not_ in the Shadow the hedgehog game. It was so bad and don't _even _get me started on Black Doom--) sighed impatiently, "You can't fool me, Robotnik. What is bothering you?"

For someone who was barely in tune with his own feelings, Shadow was an emotional-radar; he could tell right off the bat if a person was out of sorts and he could pick up any traces of gloom, fear or sadness.

The Robotnik girl blinked, then smiled sadly, "By the end of this day, you're going to hate me; straight to the core." It was an understatement to say that Shadow was shocked. His normally stoic face even betrayed him, "…What?"

She barely touched his face, "I better savor this moment: Shadow the Hedgehog in stupor. I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

The claret-streaked hedgehog grabbed her slender wrist and glared incomprehensibly at her, "What are you blathering about!? Your ambiguity is doing nothing but rousing my ire."

Julie smiled sweetly at him, but the hedgehog-radar went off again and he was able to detect the glinting sadness within her eyes, "I'm apologizing right now friend. Sorry. And I mean that from the bottom of my being."

With those cloudy words, she twisted her wrist from his grip and paced into the living room. All mirth was gone from her face and her chocolaty eyes seemed as if they had faded into ebony.

She stepped in front of the group ready to speak. She closed her eyes, trying not to focus on the black and crimson hedgehog who was lacerating her with his hard stare. For a brief second she glanced up and met the cool eyes of the blond scientist. He barely inclined his head toward her.

The words of their previous conversation were still fresh within her keen mind. Julie closed her eyes a second time before the large crowd. She was gathering strength.

_--- _

_The flaxen haired scientist appeared. The presence he carried his lean figure seemed to be in one of two ways: a.) he was either perfectly relaxed and cool, or b.) he was uptight and on guard. At this moment he didn't deviate from his habit and today he was relaxed. _

_Julie had requested to speak with him, so she was at Jake's command. Therefore, McCloud was relaxed. He'd be judging her right now. He slipped his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans casually as he leaned against the nearest wall, "What do you want now?" _

_His impassive stare focused on the pouting fair-faced Robotnik girl. His eyes narrowed; geez, was this really the great Julie Robotnik? She acted more like a girl than a woman: she threw tantrums, used unchecked curses, and she consistently had childish spats with any and everyone who managed to miff her. _

_"Did…" she hesitated, "Did you see that Chaotic energy reading?" _

_Jake looked away and scoffed, "Simpleton, was I not present in the laboratory the entire time? You measured everyone's Chaotic energy output…And you even measured my nonexistent energy and had a rather childish laugh over it." _

_Julie almost smiled at that memory. Then her face went serious "…I meant the other levels." _

_The stoic blond waited silently for her to continue, "Shadow's level was clocked in at 50,000, but I then measured one energy that was completely out of his league. I…I think it was Chaos." _

_The pretty redhead lowered her head slightly, "Shadow and the others…if they go against him, they will be crushed. It won't even be a contest." _

_The McCloud protégé narrowed his eyes for once in an un-derisive mannerism; instead he was calculating, "So what do you suggest then to remedy this obvious dilemma?" _

_"They will need more help…They will need strong allies to conform with them," Julie started shaking, "And I'll have to do something awful…Shadow, Maria, and all the others are going to hate me for it…" she choked. _

_The spiky-haired blonde stared at her levelly; where Julie Robotnik was subjective, he was completely objective; factual. Logic, numbers, statistics, and reason was what compelled him. _

_He had a steel reign over his emotions and never allowed them to factor into anything he did, "Regardless of the consequences," he said suddenly, bringing Julie to look at him, "Do you believe that this ally will help them trump Chaos? Or at least increase their success substantially?" _

_Julie made a noise halfway between a sob and a choke, "Y...yes…" _

_Then it was decided then, "…Then get off your pathetic ass and make it happen," Jake replied with his normal callousness. _

_They both stared at each other; big, watery brown eyes met cool, icy blue, "We're adults. We do what has to be done in means of our own self-preservation. So sniff up your tears and do what you have to do, or stop wasting my time." _

_With that, McCloud turned and left Julie to contemplate his words alone. _

_--- _

The aquamarine-eyed princess stared in great shock as her husband approached her. His long quills swayed rhythmically with each step he took and his purple eyes were smoldering. He stopped walking until he was a couple of feet away from her.

Tikal gazed at him in a fixed awe as the shadow of his taller framed engulfed her. This couldn't be true! Her beloved Knuckles couldn't be standing no more than three inches away from her.

Well, there was always one way to find out if he was real or a figment of her imaginings. Slowly the princess reached out a quivering hand toward her husband. She gulped visibly before she stretched forth her hand and placed it softly upon his face.

The red echidna studied her small hand before he glanced back at her with a smile, the monarch herself looked pleasantly surprised. She slowly took her sight from her hand and onto Knuckles, "You…you are truly real. You truly stand before me as flesh and blood…"

" Tikal, I stand before you whole," Knuckles smiled lightly at her.

With a sob the crowned princess jumped into Knuckles' arms and latched onto him tight. She cried as her fingers relished the feel of his smooth quills in her fingers and she cherished the warmth of his strong build against her slight frame.

"KNUCKLES!" She cried, laughing and crying in all one breath, "You're here! It's really you! _I love you! I love you so much_!"

"Then prove it to me."

They both dove into a passion of bliss as their lips met and their hands locked within the long tangles of each other's quills. Tikal had her breath swept away when Knuckles hoisted her over his shoulder, she laughed slightly as she left herself being hauled away as if she weighed nothing. Well, Knuckles _is_ the strongest being she knew.

She smiled to herself as she felt his firm muscles in his shoulders shift with each step her took. Somehow this was how she imagined herself being rescued from Chaos; within the clutches of her husband. Tikal couldn't help but smile, she really felt like one of those fairytale princesses now.

But then a thought made her brows cease together, the exit was the opposite direction Knuckles was heading. In fact, right now they were headed toward the large bed. The echidna princess glanced at the back of Knuckles' head with a faint blush; just what was really going through his mind?

"Love, c-could this wait?" Tikal's face was almost as red as her husband's, " I…I missed you too, but we must make haste before Turrok finds us!"

"No." His flat response was followed by flipping Tikal over his shoulder and onto the bed. The princess grimaced at the force her spine hit the fluffy bed. Regardless of how soft the cushions were, the force of the impact still _hurt_. Still wincing, she peeled an eye open to glance at Knuckles.

For a still second he stood over her with a chilling smile, then he honed in on her position so that they were no longer two inches apart. Tikal felt her heart pounding feverishly against her chest, she couldn't describe what she was feeling; anxiety, excitement…fear? Wait, why fear?

Because there was something slightly unsettling about him, that's why. But why would this feeling surface around Knuckles? He was the only creature, besides Sol, that she was completely at ease around. Sol was her child, a creation from her own flesh, but Knuckles was her soul mate. He was the one who could see her as eternally beautiful.

Even when she appeared her worst, she would return from a hard day of training and be covered in layers of sweat and soot, quills unruly and wild, and Knuckles would still stare at her with that intense, passionate gaze and say something on the lines of, '_Damn, you're beautiful'_ or _'Do you know how hard you make it for me to keep control over myself?_'

Also, he was the only one that she could share all of her secrets and passions. He was the only one she would think steamy thoughts and dreams about. So now, back to her fundamental thought: why was she slightly put off by him? Why was she slightly unnerved around him?

Before she could meditate on that thought, she felt Knuckles' lips beginning to crush hers. Tikal shivered; his touch felt foreign. Even worse, his touch made her feel revolted and filthy.

Where Knuckles was usually gentle and playful, he was currently cold and harsh. It was as if he was trying to work his way through a mission. That thought made Tikal's eyes snap open; _a mission_? _Am I a mission, an objective to be completed!?_

She suddenly pulled away from him, glancing at him uneasily. Knuckles stared back at her blankly; a mixture of impassivity and ire swirled within his eyes, "_What's the matter with you?" _

"_I…I_" she was stumbling, she never had trouble speaking to Knuckles before, "_I…this does not feel right…I am sorry, but I cannot do this…I_--"

A strong hand gripped her shoulders painfully. She felt herself begging squeezed painfully to the point where her eyes were beginning to water and her shoulders were starting to turn red, "_I think you can, and therefore you will, princess_."

His lips found her mouth feverishly as Tikal stared off into space blankly. Why was Knuckles doing this! Why? He always listened to her pleas and requests! And since when did he ever call her a princess? He never mentioned her status as a blueblood, and when he did he referred to her as a queen. His queen.

The princess's face suddenly blanched before it colored in anger. Her eyes went from being a cool aquiline blue to a raging, burning magenta. With a roar her chaotic energy manifested around her, swirling around her lithe frame furiously, _"Turrok!"_

Knuckles stared at her for a second before he presented her with a smile that she had never seen upon his face. It was condescending and ruthful. All his smiles he gave to his beloved Tikal where loving and warm, like embers of fire.

"_Well, princess, it's decided: you are not an entire idiot." _

"_You! Charlatan!" _she cried,_ "How do you_!!"

With an unusual fury, the princess roared furiously, throwing multiple punches at the smiling pseudo Knuckles. All her blows were hitting him and yet they were having no effect! With one last blow, Tikal cracked the imposter Knuckles across the face.

She managed to turn his face but it ultimately proved ineffective. The red echidna chuckled darkly as he slowly turned to look her dead in the eyes. Tikal gasped and moved away from him.

"_Y-you are_…" she breathed.

"_Yes_…" the crimson echidna's dark purple eyes slowly faded into Turrok's original haunting amber eyes. His smile was just as daunting as his alien eyes on Knuckles' face.

He watched as the beige echidna stumbled away from him. Turrok smiled as he was sure that Tikal was just beginning to understand his strength, "_So you finally realize my strength? The true extent of my power, fair one. And this is only with a minimal absorbance of the Master Emerald's power!!"_

The princess stumbled backwards, not daring to take her eyes off of the approaching atrocity. Tikal had never been this terrified before of an individual. Her blows had bounced off of him like nothing! How were Knuckles, Sol and the others going to combat a fiend this great?

"_Truly, do you see it? Do you see my strength now, woman?"_ Turrok smiled as his appearance began to morph into his own, "_All echidnas, especially females appreciate the strength of a warrior. The power of his might." _

Tikal continued to stumble away from him until she backed herself to the opposite side of the room. She cringed as she realized that she had no place else to go. Fearfully she turned to look at the approaching echidna.

"_Does my strength excite you? Does my might melt you? Or does my power leave you weak where you stand?" _Turrok said in a purr, "_It is ludicrous how weak your husband is compared to me." _

Turrok slowly brought his hand forth and cupped Tikal's face within his large hand. She was trembling terribly, but Chaos continued to ignore her fear, "_But do not fear princess. Do not fear me princess of royal blood; for if you submit to me and take your place as my queen, bear my worthy heirs. Our dying echidna clan shall flourish once again!" _

After stroking the monarch's cheek, Turrok bent forward to taste Tikal's lips. The princess flushed out of embarrassment before she narrowed her eyes. For the split second Turrok left his guard down, Tikal slapped him across the face.

"_I shall never be your wife! The very idea of being near you makes my stomach revolt and twist with nausea! How dare you think I will mother your children! My dream is to be with Knuckles, and I shall not give that up for no one!" _

Chaos stared at the smaller echidna for a second before his features contoured in anger. He grabbed both of her shoulders and slammed her against the wall, "_Why you worthless urchin! Regardless of your foolish tantrums, you shall submit to ME!" _

A flare of venomous jade-green energy flared around Chaos. He bared his teeth as he effortlessly hoisted the princess off of her feet and into the air. She gaped at him in shock as she realized that he was holding her in the air by her shoulders. She refused to cry out in pain as she felt Chaos' fingers squeeze into the blades and contours of her shoulder.

Finally, just as Tikal felt her arms going numb, Chaos released her and tossed her across the room. The princess went down in a terrible tumble as Turrok stormed out the room. He slammed the large doors and left the royal heiress to herself again.

_--- _

The ultimate one took a seat between Amy and Sonic and checked his seat before he sat down. This was to make sure that Sonic didn't try to booby-trap his seat.

"You think so low of me," Sonic smiled.

Shadow glared back at him, "…I know."

"Will you guys stop your flirting for a second!?" the rosette hedgehog growled, "Julie's about to talk!"

"Guys," Julie said, "While I was taking your Chaotic energy readings, with Shadow's being the most expansive, I have discovered something else. If you plan to face Chaos…Then you are far out of your league."

Everyone fell silent. Well, that wasn't good news. The blue wonder rose to his feet, "W-what do you mean?"

"Chaos' energy may be larger than all of yours combined. That's what I mean," Julie replied.

A raise of unnerved murmur rose. The only two people in the room who waited in silence were Shadow, who was still studying his friend after their enigmatic encounter, and then there was Jake.

Aloof as always, he was watching the Robotnik girl wondering if she was going to take his advice from earlier and do what had to be done…or be a sissy and wuss out. Right now he was judging her character.

"You guys can't do this on your own," she said in what was to be a whisper, but all still caught her quiet words. Tails scratched his head before he exchanged glances with Cream, "Well, what do you think we should do, doctor? Is there anyway to gain a possible boost of Chaotic energy?"

Sonic snapped his fingers as a thought came to mind, "Hey! What about the Chaos emeralds?" A happier wave of conversation rose. Cream and Daisy glanced at each other and smiled as Tails high-fived Sonic; who knew the blue guy had such great ideas within him?

"Sure," Julie shrugged, "Anything to try and get a boost of power."

"Well what's your solution?" Cream asked. She was thoughtful enough to pick up on Julie's low-key mood.

"You'll need another ally," she replied.

Shadow couldn't explain quite why, but that announcement made his blood run cold. He sat silently now, trying to think of any and everyone who could possibly aid them against the great Chaos.

"Cool," the blue hedgehog beside him replied, "So who do you have in mind? Team Chaotix? Shad works with those guys anyhow."

The rosette hedgehog frowned, "…I don't like that one crocodile. Whenever Sonic left, he kept hitting on me…"

"No, not them," Julie gasped out; she suddenly covered her mouth as if she was trying to hold herself back from retching. Shadow slowly rose to his feet; he didn't know why, but this person…the ultimate one was sure that he wasn't going to like them.

The crimson-streaked hedgehog was sure that Julie knew this as well. So who was this new ally his good friend was referring to? Scythe scoffed, "Well redhead, do we know 'em?"

"Y-yes…" she replied, trembling. "You…all…do…"

Now Shadow was really felling nauseous. Who was she talking about? He froze in place when he saw Julie look dead at him, as if she was trying to send him some secret message meant only for him. Then she turned her head away, no longer able to take Shadow's strong stare.

"…You're going to need help of someone really powerful. Therefore I need to awaken…"

Awaken? What does Julie mean awaken? Who could possibly be…? Shadow's sky suddenly went black as his friend spoke the next word, "…Achilles.."

* * *

-**To be continued!**

_So now I'm gonna do something different. To show my appreciation for the reviews, I'll gonna answer your reviews, only Scythe will be doing it in my stead. Scythe, let 'em have it. _

Scythe: WTF!? (Groans) Whatever. Well, I guess fans _would_ want me to answer them. After all I'm not only strong but I'm sexy too.

_…Uh… _

Goldenwing57: Yah damn right we're gonna kick Chaos' ass! But I still don't get how Shadow has a chaotic level that high! He must do some Chaos energy enhancing drugs or something.

#17: Omega who? Wait, I think I remember now. Isn't that one of Egghead's robots or something? I don't know exactly why he should be in the story, he's completely inferior now that I'm around! Muwhaha!

Mystery001: Hey, this guy's a loyal reviewer why I'll---_what the hell_!? Just what's SO impressive about SHADOW!? Heck, anyone could have blown that stupid, Emerald-whatcha-ma-call-it up into pieces! …But thanks for your continual reviews! I bet I'm your favorite character, huh?

SangoBakura: Bakura? Is that another character? If so, if you ask me, your penname should be HedgehogScythe or CyborgScythe, perhaps ScytheTHEgreat or something. Heh, you really like these stories, eh? Thanks a lot, and keep readin'. Well, I'm probably one of your favorite reasons why you read, eh?

Shadowsole: …Shadowsole? Your penname is _Shadow_sole!? Well what about Scythesole!?!? Jeez, really now!? What is so fantastic about SHADOW!? (grumbles) Thanks for the review and no more of this Shadow nonsense!

SexyShadowGirl: SexySHADOWgirl!?!? ARGH! What is this!? It's all about HIM isn't it!? Shadow, Shadow, SHADOW! (growls) Oh, and you were expecting that red and black loser to have more chaotic energy!? I swear, when we're done with Chaos, I'm gonna kill him!! THANKS FOR THE REVIEW! (darts off to find Shadow)


	11. Hyoretsuzan

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue_

By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Wow, there was just an explosion of reviews! Cool. Heh, it looks like you guys enjoyed Scythe's reviews-answers! He's something else, huh? Well originally I was planning to have this chapter up quicker but then **_it_** happened.

-Alicestar brought **_it_** over. She brought over Naurto Clash of the ninjas 2. If you've played that game then you **_know_** how addictive it is. If anyone's curious I play as my main man Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Allygurl's whipped and is a Sasuke junkie so I'm usually Naruto and Sakura.

-(More A/N ranting) And can you believe it!? Sasuke with Sharigan is 100,000 credit and Nine-tailed Naruto is only 3500?! What kinda load of crap is that! He's the main character!! After I post this up, I'm gonna go play some Sonic Riders. I'm fairly good with Rouge and Amy but I'm unbeatable with Shadow. Enough with my rantings, enjoy the fresh, lemon-scented chapter!

_---_

_"Hey!" McCloud blinked when he realized that some other voice than Julie's answered him. Glaring at him from Julie's lap was a cutesy, small white hedgehog with large blue eyes. She crawled off of Julie and went to stand toe to toe with the blond scientist. _

_"I said leave my mama alone, you bad man!" Ceres puffed, standing with her arms akimbo. This caused the blond scientist to arch an eyebrow, " 'Mama'?" _

_"Why are you being so mean?" _

_With a sweeping hand, Julie ushered a frowning Ceres off elsewhere, "Don't worry about the bad man, Ceres. It's just that no one told him he was special when he was little. Now why don't you make us a cup of hot chocolate? And don't be stingy with the whip cream." _

_Ceres shot Jake one last glare, which somehow ended up being more adorable than scary, and left gingerly. Jake didn't waste a single second before he attacked a thought that had been haunting him now. He looked down at Julie, "'Mama'?" _

**--- **

**-Epilogue- **

_Hyoretsuzan_ : "Ice Burst Stab"

The topic of Achilles still hadn't leaked to the curious ears of the children. The adults still had them locked outside and were still arguing amongst each other. Flash was pacing back and forth, creating a ditch for himself. Maria, who was straight bored out of her mind was trying to do anything to keep her mind off of the adults: complaining, kicking the dirt, spitting into anthills, even mocking Flash and Sol.

Sol himself was sitting in the grass, currently trying to ignore Maria who was mimicking both his posture and his attitude. He closed his eyes and sighed (Maria copied him a second later) as he tried to keep himself from dying of boredom or from strangling Maria.

For a brief second he forgot his temper and glared at her jadedly. How could she be so…relaxed, so normal about being around him after all that they went through? Was Maria pretending that their kiss never happened? Or what about the bath time incident? Or maybe Maria really did forget about it because she was an idiot.

Or…

Sol winced, maybe he meant nothing to her. Maria was, by most standards, a very pretty girl. She could probably open a warehouse with the amount of guys after her. And if it wasn't her face that attracted men, then it was that hardcore, built, buxom goddess-like figure she was blessed with. And if it wasn't her fair face and great bod that brought guys knocking at her door, then it was certainly her fiery spirit.

The fired-furred guardian held his breath; maybe Maria had had so many guys before, so compared to them he was a joke! Very few people came around Angel Island, let alone girls his age. Sol knew that he was graceless socially and he was naturally quiet and observant by nature.

Maria walked over to Flash and began to strike up a conversation. The guardian felt the pit of his stomach drop, and a familiar thought that had run through his mind time and time again surfaced; why couldn't he be more like Sonic Flash Hedgehog?

Unlike him, his blue friend knew how to joke and knew how to charm like no tomorrow. And although Sol barely left Angel Island, he knew about Flash's popularity with both boys and girls alike. Oh yes, Sol knew very well that girls would fall at Flash's feet just to have him cast a glance in their direction. Was…would Maria become one of those girls?

Flash smiled _perfectly_ as Maria broke into a full out laugh at whatever their conversation was about. For some reason that made Sol just the teeniest bit…irritated? Vexed? Bothered? Well, it bothered him because somehow, just somehow Sol knew that both he, and the star wide receiver were gunning for the same girl. How would he be able to compete against prince Charming?

"Maria!!"

"Huh?" Both Maria and Flash looked up as Sunny came rushing out of the front door crying. _Crying_. The stoic Sunny never cried if she could help it. But tonight, for some reason her tears were pouring down her face. The yellow hedgehog glomped onto Maria and cried, "Whoa! Whoa! What's the problem Sunny?"

"How did you get inside the house!?" Flash exclaimed, "They locked all the doors and the windows to keep us out!"

"Flash, do you mind? She's crying here!"

"Um…oh yeah…"

"I just snuck in…through the back," Sunny sniffed as secretly, Flash bookmarked that, "And…and whatever the adults aren't telling us…it's bad. Really bad. So bad that mom and dad are having a heated fight over it."

"But don't uncle Scythe and aunt Daisy fight all the time though?"

"Yeah, but this time it's really bad. They always speak to each other after fights, but this time they're not…" Sunny hiccupped, "What if they hate each other?!"

Flash smiled slightly, "Hey, its going to be alright. My parents had a really bad fight once to you know."

Round silver eyes stared at him, "…Really?"

The blue hedgehog chuckled slightly, "Yeah. Both my parents have powerful personalities, so when they bump heads its awful! But the one time that I can recall when they fought…oh man! I thought that was the worst day ever."

The azure wide receiver smoothly transitioned them into a tale, or a memory he recalled about a time when he saw his parents fighting, it was one of the few times that he saw them both furious at each other.

His normally cheery mother was yelling heatedly at his father, who had the brightest smile in the world. He remembered that night, it ugly; raining and storming terribly; it seemed as if the entire world had turned against them.

Flash as a child no more than seven summers, had been awakened by their arguing. When he first came downstairs rubbing his bleary, tired eyes, he was just about to ask what the commotion was. He froze, looking on in horror at the display.

His mother, whose green eyes were alit with a hellish fury, was screaming and throwing various objects at his dad. Her aim was purposefully terrible as she shrieked worse than any possessed banshee. She was barking accusingly at his Sonic, who, although was heated, just stared at her sternly, not saying a word out against her.

His hands were balled into fists, firmly planted at his sides. Although he didn't speak a single word, all the hostility he presented was evident in his green eyes, which seemed to be a few shades darker than normal.

Flash wanted to rush over to his parents and tell them to stop, but he was too horrified. He slowly slinked back to his room, feeling very ill to his stomach. The small hedgehog wrapped his blankets over his head and covered his ears with his hands.

Maria looked up at Flash, eyes wide with curiosity; she had never known such a story, "So how did that end?" Flash smiled warmly, "Well, the next time I saw them, they were back together in their own bedroom. Vaguely I can recall them apologizing to each other."

Maria raised both eyebrows as Sol gave an arch smile. Flash glanced between his two friends and made a noise between a snort and a laugh, "Oh give me a break! The door was closed; I was _not _going in there!!"

The others burst out laughing, even Flash himself smiled. Sunny seemed to miss the implication as she frowned. The yellow hedgehog looked up at Flash, "So everyone's parents have their days then, huh?"

Sol smiled, "Everyone's parents have their disputes."

Maria gasped, "Even yours!? Aunt and uncle get along together so well! But seriously, they have arguments!?"

"Of course they do. Well, maybe not as flamboyantly as Flash's parents. They don't yell but they certainly sound mad and speak in ancient echidna. I can tell whenever they have a quarrel; father's always outside smashing away at some boulder and mother's usually talking to the Master Emerald. Once I saw _her_ breaking boulders!!"

This time, Flash joined Maria and Sunny in laughter. Sunny sniffled and wiped her nose, "Really? I--I always thought it was just my parents. They always do it."

She wiped her eyes dry, "Well I feel stupid now; crying over something like this."

Flash put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Hey now squirt, it's all right for you to care about your parents."

Sunny looked away and smirked, "Well…I suppose…"

Maria looked away as dialogue between Flash and Sunny continued. Her smile faded away slightly when she realized that she didn't have a story of her own to contribute. Vaguely, she wondered if anyone else noticed too.

Before she could ponder on how life would be like with two parents, Sol suddenly stood up from his comfy spot on the ground and began to stroll off. The violet-eyed bat blinked, "Yo! Sol, where ya goin'?"

The claret echidna waved a hand, but kept going without looking back, "Don't worry, I won't be long. I just want to clear my head a bit, that's all."

Flash and Maria exchanged glances knowing that this was one of the times that Sol wished for solitude. Stirring up the wrath of Sol was not the thing either of them waned to do. He was equable and cool, yes, but when he was infuriated, it was like the seventh gate of hell was unlocked. Sol was downright terrifying to be around when he was incensed.

Once he was sure that he was out of eyesight of the others, Sol gazed off into the sky. Contemplation played upon his stern features as the ideas of the previous conversation still swirled within his noggin. Family. The failed guardian closed his eyes and pictured his mother and father.

He could recall how much they both loved him, each in their own different way. As a kid no taller than his mother's waist, Sol used to remember how his mother used to sneak him food. Sol chuckled slightly as he recalled a scene from his past

---

_It was a celebration for his father's birthday and as so, Knuckles wanted a homemade chocolate cake. Generally the stubborn guardian detested sweets, but if Tikal was making something, then Knuckles would eat it without a second thought. _

_The sweet aroma of baking cake, puddings, and meringues brought a straggling little Sol into the kitchen. His mommy was making all sort of goodies: cakes, cookies, pies, soufflés, crèmes, puddings, and flans, for his daddy's birthday. It was just too torturous to smell all of those sweet scents…and wait until after dinner before he could eat them! _

_Sol scampered over to his mom with the intention to get a taste of something! "Momma!" a five-year old Sol tugged roughly at the hem of his mother's skirt, "Momma!!" _

_The echidna heiress gasped as her young son tugged at the fabric of her skirt. She removed his hands gingerly as her face rouged a bit; if he had yanked any harder, he would have pulled the skirt right to her ankles! _

_"What is it Sollie?" Tikal asked, gazing down at the frowning child. _

_"Momma, I want some sweets! Can I please have something to eat? All those sweet smells are driving me crazy!" _

_Tikal__ giggled and smiled down at the mini version of her husband. The boy looked back at her with bright aquamarine irises that mirrored her own, "You know, daddy doesn't want you to have anything until after dinner or you might spoil your appetite." _

_"I won't! I won't!" the mini guardian promised, "Now please can I try something?" _

_Tikal gazed skyward exaggeratedly so that the little echidna knew she was considering his offer, "Well…" _

_"Please momma! Please!! I'll make sure daddy gives you that massage he promised you!" _

_Aquamarine eyes sparkled, "Deal!" _

_The echidna princess tittered; she was going to give him something anyways, just for being so darn cute, but a massage sweetened the deal! "Okay then Sol, wanna try some of the chocolate cake momma's making?" _

_Sol nodded his head excitedly, "Good, then open wide and say ah!" _

_"Ahhhhhhhh!" Sol opened his mouth as wide as possible, receiving a laugh from his mommy. _

_Tikal, who had been mixing the batter together, removed the large spoon from the thick, sweet batter and spoon-fed Sol. Most of the batter ended up getting all over his face, but the boy was still thrilled. _

_"Mmmm! It's so good momma! Daddy's gonna like your cake! And your cakes are always the best momma!" _

_The princess smiled brightly, "…I hope so. And do you know what else is the best?" _

_"What mama?" _

_"You are." Tikal bent down and kissed one of Sol's chocolate-smeared cheeks. _

_"Eww! I just got a kiss from a girl!!" The echidna wiped the kiss away, although he feigned disgust, Sol was still pleased. _

_"Oh? And you think kisses are gross?" Tikal arched an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips, "Well then we must fix that! Because you are a handsome young man and some day girls will like you!" _

_"Eww!" Sol exclaimed with childish glee. _

_"And girls will chase you!" Tikal called out as she began to run after her son, who was play-screaming, "And girls will want to hug you! And kiss you! Like this!" _

_"Gross! Stop it mama!" Sol laughed as his mom, who held him in a hug, kissed him. _

_"And they'll want to kiss you again, and again, and again!" The echidna giggled as his mother showered him with kisses. _

---

Where his mom was sweet and caring, his dad was stern, yet protective. He showed his love in different ways than his mother…

---

_Sol knew his daddy was strong; he could crush boulders with his bare hands and if he punched the ground, he could make it shake! The little echidna watched as his father was busy training and his workout consisted of: jogging, sit-ups, push-ups, chin-ups, kicks, punches, the works. Sol watched from behind the shrubs. Hiding himself was something they had worked out this week in Sol's guardian training. _

_He watched as his father threw super-fast jabs and kicks at an invisible foe. The little red echidna continued with his camouflage in the bushes; his dad was so strong and someday, Sol was going to be just as great as he is! _

_Knuckles on the other hand sweat-dropped; he had known Sol had been spying on him ever since his son 'hid' within the bushes. This was their first week in Sol's guardian training, and Knuckles had taught him to sneak up upon foes. And it looked like Sol had tried to camouflage himself as well, but he overlooked one thing… _

_He chose to hide in dark green bushes…but his fur was a bright, striking red color. _

_…Good job, Sol. _

_But if the bright red in a blur of green wasn't a big enough give away, Knuckles had also heard all the noises Sol was making. Every now and then he would hear an 'ouch!' or an 'owwie!'; Sol must have been getting stuck by those leaves and branches. _

_Before Knuckles could burst out laughing, Sol suddenly rose from his hiding spot. He pointed toward his dad who was watching him silently, "You!" _

_"?" Knuckles arched an eyebrow. _

_"Strong guardian, I challenge you to a fight!" Sol proclaimed, pointing his digit at Knuckles in what was supposed to be a challenging manner. _

_'Great,' Knuckles thought to himself, 'Here we go again…' _

_With a high-pitched war cry, Sol leapt out of the bushes and charged straight at his dad. Knuckles covered his mouth in an attempt to hold back laughter; Sol's 'war cry' sounded more like a demented, demon-possessed goat. _

_The little echidna ran to his father, who was standing perfectly at ease, and Sol lashed out with a roundhouse. Knuckles blocked the kick single-handedly and watched as Sol spun around to pummel him with his 'fists of fury'. _

_"Feel my wrath, guardian!" Sol cried, striking his father's stomach with rather quick punches for a five-year older. But to an adult, it did no more than tickle Knuckles' stomach. _

_"…" Knuckles just watched him wordlessly. _

_"Submit yet? O guardian? O wise one? O honored one? O chosen one!?" Sol called out, "O--ugh!" _

_Knuckles flicked his son's nose and sent him crashing into the dirt. Sol glanced back at Knuckles who smirked at him, "Sorry, but there will be no submission." _

_"You are a worthy foe," Sol mumbled through his throbbing nose. _

_The red guardian strolled over until he squatted before his little son. Knuckles patted his son's head, "A true guardian never submits. It's their duty to guard the emerald with their life. And you know what, Sol? You've got the determination to make a great guardian." _

_The boy's eyes lit up, "You…you think so daddy?" _

_Knuckles smiled, "I know so. Now stand to your feet so we can begin your next training session. We're going to play tag…and you're it!" _

_--- _

The grown, eighteen-year old Sol stood staring at the starry sky. He lowered his head and clenched a fist; this whole Chaos fiasco occurred because he wasn't strong enough. All that training, sweat, blood and tears wasn't enough to win him his guardianship.

In fact, it was because of his failure that his mom was abducted and Chaos was too powerful. Sol gazed at the red earth beneath him as his mind danced within turmoil, _'My dad's been miserable and my mother's been suffering because of me. I don't care what it takes…'_

A beige echidna with bright turquoise and a sparkling tiara smiled, _"And do you know what else is the best? You are." _

_'I'm going to make everything right again and…' _

A fire-furred echidna with strong, dark violet eyes beamed, _"A true guardian never submits. It's their duty to guard the emerald with their life. And you know what, Sol? You've got the determination to make a great guardian." _

_'…and I'm going to beat Chaos. Just like I should have the first time! Father, mother, I won't let you down twice!' _

_--- _

Sonic sat outside, gazing at the fading skyline; it was the time of day where the sky held four different colors melting into each other: blue faded into gold, as gold melded into pink, as pink pooled into a fiery red-magenta.

The blue hero's other half stepped out of the stone house to find her Sonic, "…Sonic?" She walked over to him where his eyes were still studying the sky. She sighed before she stepped beside him, "Is…is Julie really going to awaken him?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Do we really have the options to be picky?" Sonic asked, "I mean, you were there; Chaos manhandled each of us without a drop of sweat on his bushy brows.

The rosette hedgehog looked away reluctantly. She had seen the way Chaos danced right through the usually formidable force of heroes. Amy glanced up at Sonic, "Is…is…he going to be safe around?"

The blue wonder scratched his head, "Well, Jules says that his cognitive thinking is finally finished…Whatever that means…"

"Sonic," Amy groaned, "That means he's completely sane now. Before he was only seventy-five percent done! Remember!?"

Sonic blinked, "…Oh yeah!"

Under her breath, Amy muttered something about Sonic being lucky that he was hot or else. The azure one snapped to attention, "…What was that?"

"Hm? Oh nothing," Amy touched his head and laughed when his blue ears flicked. The blue hedgehog grinned licentiously, "Wanna see what happens when you touch me somewhere else?"

The rose hedgehog laughed even harder, which only further motivated Sonic's antics. The hero curled a stray arm around Amy's waist and pulled her closer. He didn't fail to notice the cherry-coated blush upon her face.

"S-sonic," Amy gulped, "S-stop that…", oh crap, what was he doing? He knew she wasn't immune to his charm!

"Stop what?" Sonic purred, clearly having no intention of stopping, "You mean doing something…like this?"

The blue hero tilted Amy's head and licked the side of her face.

"Ah!" Her green eyes went wide as her face exploded with a flurry of crimson, "S-sonic!"

He smirked at her heightened blush and the way she was tried to hide her pleasure, "S-sonic…stop..puh-please?"

If he kept this up, then she was surely going to melt. For some reason Sonic had the power to know exactly what to do to her and where to touch to make her weak in the knees. When Sonic was born, he must have come equipped in this world with a '_How to make Amy Rose hot and_ _bothered_' manual.

The owner of this said book glanced over at her devilishly, "Well Amykins, I can't now. I mean, you _know_ how I feel when you beg. It's like asking a kid not to push the red button. And I really wanna push your buttons."

He smelt the crook of her neck and sighed, "Amykins…you smell so good."

Before the blue hero felt himself loosing all control over the reigns of his emotions, a black and crimson hedgehog burst through the front door and marched past them. The intrusion on the intimate moment would have been embarrassing, but Shadow seemed not to have noticed them.

He headed into the deep forest before he disappeared out of sight completely. Amy and Sonic exchanged glances; they both knew what this was about. Julie Robotnik was going to bring back the creature who had murdered Rouge.

Achilles.

---

Julie appeared looking rather sullen, like she had been lacking a whole lot of sleep. Beside her was the stoic Jake, Scythe, Daisy, Tails, Ceres, and Knuckles. Somehow Sonic understood that Shadow wouldn't want to be around for this.

Scythe narrowed his eyes; so they were really going to do this? They were really going there to bring back his twisted, younger 'brother.' The charcoal and silver hedgehog sneered; they weren't brothers by blood, make no mistake about that. Ever since Achilles was created, Eggman had pitted the two of them against each other.

The black hedgehog felt a hand interweave into his. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Daisy glancing at him sympathetically. Her small hand squeezed his, letting him know of her support. Sonic turned to glance at the pink hedgehog behind himself.

"Amy," there was no pet name; he was going all-business now, " I have to teleport the others to the Sahara base. Are you coming?"

The cherry-pink hedgehog smiled slightly, "No. Someone has to watch over Shadow and the kids. Go already, you're just making a scene!"

Tails handed his long-time hero the jade-green emerald Shadow had once been holding onto. Sonic glanced at it stoically before he gave the two-word summon that made them all vanish in a blitz of green light.

Once her friends were out of site, Amy strolled out of the house and traced the steps that Shadow had walked seconds earlier. She walked through the lush green jungle, treaded through the muddy grounds until she found her destination.

The pinkette hedgehog slowly scaled a tree, making sure to step over and avoid branches that snapped under her weight. With one last grunt, she heaved herself onto a branch and crawled up the twisting bark. After wiping away sweat, she glanced beside her.

Sitting to her left was a black and crimson hedgehog who sat with his knees pulled to his chest and his ears were pressed against his skull. The hedgehog's dark eyes were uncharacteristically round, sad claret eyes. At the moment he looked more like a downtrodden child than an ultimate being.

Amy frowned, "…Oh Shadow…"

Then she went to make her way next to him. The pink hedgehog wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Neither of them exchanged words; it wasn't necessary to. They just sat in the silence of each other's company. One was suffering and the other was healing.

---

Sol waited until the later moments of night before he made his move. His fur was a heavy shade of wine, and his eyes were the color of a clouded ocean. He slowly crept away from his home that was no longer a home; with his mom gone and his zombie-like dad, it really wasn't the same place.

Just as he went to head away from the Master Emerald shrine, he paused. Was there someone up at the top of the hallowed shrine? The young echidna forgot his old plans and ran toward the shrine.

Once he reached the bottom of the stone stairwell, he glanced up and saw a familiar young echidna; he was truly flabbergasted, "M-mother!?" The beige echidna at the top of the shrine glanced down at him passively, "_Try going up a little further in your ancestry, son. I am your great-grandmother. Tikal is still with Turrok."_

Sol paused the closed his eyes. Meda pointed her walking staff at him, "_Why? What do you intend to accomplish, young blood? What giving you out at such an hour?" _

"_I…I want to save my mother_," Sol glanced at the gravel near his feet, knowing how utterly foolish his wish sounded to such a great elder.

"_When you_ _first fought Chaos, you could not beat him, and now that he has taken some of the Master Emerald's power, he is flawless. Relinquish your quest_," Meda replied, gauging him closely.

She thought she heard Sol mumble something; the elder narrowed her eyes and glared, "_Speak up, young blood_."

"_I said…I…I don't care_!" Sol roared, "_I'd rather die than sit here and do nothing! I'm young but I'm not useless, I may have failed…but that doesn't mean that I'm a failure_!" he barked, vision becoming blurred with more than his rising rage.

After witnessing her great grandson's outburst, just the slightest traces of a smirk appeared upon her young face. Meda traveled her way down the stone steps until she was standing before him. Sol froze; she looked so much like his mother that it was daunting. Except Meda's turquoise orbs were much sharper and stern, as if she had the ability to look right through you. Her stony gaze lightened just a bit.

This boy was still a child despite his height and his built physique, "_If you wish to try, I cannot stop you . It is the true will of a guardian; you must obtain your objective even if you must walk through fire and water to achieve it." _

In a rare gesture of warmth, Meda closed her eyes and bent forward. Ocean-blue eyes widened as Sol felt his great grandmother's lips lightly press upon his forehead. She had given him a quick kiss. But before she pulled away, she whispered to him, "…_And not all quests are to be journeyed alone, my son. Tell me, what else do you sense_?"

Sol paused for a moment before he realized what she was talking about. Vaguely, he could sense two other presences. His great grandmother pulled away from him with a smirk and headed up to the top of the shrine.

The red echidna cursed under his breath before he ran a hand through his disheveled quills. His blue eyes narrowed in slight annoyance, "…Okay you two, you can come out now. I know you're there…idiots."

Then a voice sounded from the shrubbery behind him, "H-how did you know we were here!?"

Sol smirked darkly, "Because you just notified me."

"…Thanks a lot Maria," Flash, along with Rouge Maria, popped up from their hiding places within the bushes. Sol's amused expression quickly disappeared though, "…Were you stalking me!?"

"Sol," Flash deadpanned, "It's three in the freakin' morning and you left with that I'm-gonna-kick-someone's-ass look in your eyes. You better believe we followed you out here."

Sol glared at them both, but just a wee bit stronger at Flash Hedgehog; why did those two always seem to be together? "Just leave me alone. This is something I have to take care of myself."

"If you're going to take down Chaos, then you're crazy! However…" Maria smirked, looking as if she was about to make a paramount, important statement, "If we all go to fight Chaos, then we're crazies!"

"…" Sol and Flash exchanged confused looks.

"Did you…?"

"Yeah…I'm completely lost too with that one."

"…Seriously, and Maria has said some dumb things before…"

The albino bat's face exploded into a shade as nearly as dark as Sol's crimson fur. Both males glanced at her amused; it was always fun to tease Maria for three good reasons: a) she always managed to say something dumb b) she had a short temper c) Maria was cute.

"Look! We just need to go together, okay!?"

"Maria the genius is right about something though," Flash said turning to face Sol, "If you do want to face off against Chaos, then you're going to need our help."

Before Sol could protest, Maria appeared before him. She gave him a big, purple, puppy-eyed stare that could make the toughest stones melt, "Please Sol…let us come with you and help put Chaos out."

Sol closed his eyes and groaned. He opened one eye, looked at Maria again, then closed it again. He groaned a second timed. He knew he was screwed with those big, sparkly violet eyes.

---

Everyone stood around in the red room. The only sounds being emitted in the room where the mechanical whirls of machinery, bleeps, and low hums. Scythe and Daisy stood near each other as Knuckles, Sonic and Tails were clumped together. Julie, Jake, and Ceres were in one group.

Sonic sucked in wind; this was really happening, wasn't it? They were really going to see the golden terror reawakened. The blue hero glanced over at Knuckles. What was going through his mind? Was he worried too?

"Well, let's hurry up and not try to draw this out all day," Jake said, "Or are we going to throw this guy a parade?"

"The jerk is right about something," Knuckles replied, "Let's just get this done with."

Julie nodded her head and bit her lip. She slowly walked over to the large capsule that indeed contained the completed project Achilles. Mutely, Julie slowly traced her hand over the capsule; this was something that her father had created and his hands had probably been here too.

Eggman may have been a terrible man, but he too had dreams. He invested his dreams in creating a perfect killer: a creature that had not only the perfect calculator brain, but was the perfect athlete. An unstoppable creature with flawless speed and strength.

The ginger-haired girl glanced at herself in one-way mirror. Eggman created a monster but hopefully with Achilles' second coming, Julie had corrected her father's mistake. She closed her eyes for a brief second. She was mentally apologizing to Shadow, to Maria and even to Rouge herself.

The others watched the Robotnik girl lucidly. For a second Tails didn't think that she was going to actually open the capsule, but then he saw Julie's fingers slowly curl around a lever and tug. Once the lever was released, the initiation of Achilles' release began.

The sounds of snaps and unfastening joints resonated through the laboratory in sickly echoes. With one last whine the capsule clicked, signaling its opening. A hiss sprayed from the capsule as it slowly opened. The crowd watched the capsule slowly reveal its occupant; a sleeping, golden hedgehog.

"Mama," Ceres gasped, "Look! There's a sleeping boy in there…"

_'Damn it, this is really happening_!' Sonic grimaced slightly as he met a familiar face of his past, '_We're really standing here, watching this guy come back to life. Aww crap, I really don't like this…' _

With the unbolting of his capsule, the eyes of the gold hedgehog slowly fluttered open. He gazed at the world with blue eyes. With a groan, the gold hedgehog sat forward. His face was grim as if he had just woken up from a chain of nightmares.

The crowd met him with dour features on their faces. Wordlessly Daisy groped for Scythe's hand and he accepted it without any seconds thoughts. The usually animated Julie Robotnik was quite somber, "…Welcome back Achilles."

This aforementioned hedgehog, fur of goldenrod color and eyes bluish, was Achilles, Eggman's last creation. Unlike his predecessor, Scythe, he was completely organic; no metal and no robotic functions made him operate, Achilles was one hundred percent flesh, blood, bones, and cells.

Achilles woke up feeling as if he had been roused from a terrible fear, a nightmare. His mind was hazy, but a couple of faces within the crowd did seem familiar to him. First was a royal blue hedgehog whose face was rather familiar to him. For some reason his mind registered the name Sonic with this hedgehog.

_Did I…fight him? _

Next an even meaner-looking echidna was beside this Sonic. Thoughts of fighting, fists, and knuckles came to mind with this guy. The young fox beside the echidna wasn't familiar at all. Achilles blinked when he glanced at the black and silver hedgehog; was he related to him? Achilles' brother? That tie went to this black hedgehog.

When Achilles laid his eyes upon the yellow hedgehog, he could remember her perfectly. _She's…she's pseudo sister. Pseudo because we're not related, but yet we both have yellow fur…_When he first met her she was smaller and wore pigtails. Achilles grabbed his head and grimaced; suddenly everything hit him all at once like a collapsed dam. His memory hit him in a vicious tidal wave when he was most vulnerable and at his weakest.

"R-rouge…" he gasped.

Sonic blinked back at him in surprise. _So he does remember, huh?_ The blue hero took a step toward him but quickly backtracked when Achilles vomited up a dull, clear liquid. This had been his food sustaining him all those years.

"Need a bib?" that scorn came from his silver-eyed brother. Achilles tried to talk but only succeeded in spewing out the contents of his stomach. For a moment Daisy's bright eyes darkened.

"…So this is the great fiend we couldn't have stopped eighteen years ago?" Knuckles statement was emotionless, yet it was piqued with an underlying spite. Sonic glanced at Julie, "…This was a mistake, Jules. You should have destroyed him when you had the chance."

Daisy lowered her head and bit her bottom lip. It was disheartening to see Achilles, the fierce opponent left as nothing more than a weakling who couldn't even contain the contents of his stomach. _So, he'd my b-brother-in-law now, huh? Does Scythe still see him as his brother? _

"Yeah Robotnik, you should have finished him. And sent this creep where he belongs," Scythe sneered as his silver irises faded into ebony.

Just the sight of Achilles made Scythe painfully aware of his vulnerability. Scythe was built, created as this guy's prototype. He was the error where Achilles was perfection. Isn't it funny how life worked? Here Scythe's supposed superior lay, kneeling at his feet while hacking his lungs up.

"I…I'm sorry," his voice was hoarse but everyone in the room heard it. The only three people who seemed to have been stirred by his words were Sonic, Tails, and Daisy. At the sound of Achilles' confession, the blue wonder's eyebrows barely raised, Tails frowned and Daisy gasped.

"Sorry…" he coughed out before he bowed his head, "…For…for everything…"

But Julie didn't seem to care every much for his thoughts. She strolled up before him and stood no more than two feet from him. Achilles blinked at the sight of heeled boots then slowly elevated his gaze until he was staring at a blank-faced woman. _Do I know…her? Did I hurt her too? _

"… Later I'll explain why you've been awakened, because it definitely wasn't by choice. I'll debrief you of the situation when you collect yourself and aren't a sniveling, weepy pile of nothing." The ginger-haired woman said, and with nothing else to talk about, she retrieved Ceres, turned and left.

The quiet Jake McCloud observed Achilles for a brief second longer before he tailed Julie. Knuckles grunted and left as Sonic followed suit. Tails shook his head sadly before turning and following his idol out. Scythe made his way to the door before he realized that Daisy wasn't beside him.

He glanced over and saw Daisy kneeling beside his brother. Daisy tipped his face upward, studying his face intently. She tried to ignore the round, deep blues that stare back at her reproachfully, "…Are you sorry?" she asked quietly, "And please tell me the truth."

The sorrow that passed through his eyes left her feeling unsettled and almost sympathetic, "…Yes." Scythe sneered as he felt a wild surge of jealously burn through his systems, "Daisy, get the hell away from that psycho!"

The yellow hedgehog helped Achilles to his feet, missing the stunned look the golden hedgehog threw her direction. Daisy pulled away from him and for the briefest second gave him a smile. Afterwards she spun on her heel and walked over out past Scythe.

He allowed Daisy to exit first so he had time to give his sibling a good, long 'go to hell and take a wrong turn' stare. Once Scythe was sure Achilles got the message, he turned and followed his wife. The gold hedgehog coughed before he released a discontented groan, "…Great, I'm already a crowd favorite."

---

"I think I may have lost a best friend, Ceres."

"Shadow doesn't hate you, mama."

"You think so?"

"Uh-huh! And besides, I still like you!"

Jake found Julie outside, gazing off into the cream-colored sands. The redhead was seated at the ostentatious opening to Eggman's grand base. The serious scientist glared, wondering just how someone could stand this crazy weather.

The temperature had transformed from being sweltering hot to being ferociously cold; the Sahara dessert was a two-faced monster. McCloud narrowed his eyes; the cherry-haired girl was all alone and now was a good time as any to approach her.

"Robotnik," Jake said in his normal cool voice.

"…Yes?" Julie didn't bother turning around, only one person called her by her last name.

McCloud seemed bothered as his features curled up into a sneer, "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

"Hey!" McCloud blinked when he realized that some other voice than Julie's answered him. Glaring at him from Julie's lap was a cutesy, small white hedgehog with large blue eyes. She crawled off of Julie and went to stand toe to toe with the blond scientist.

"I said leave my mama alone, you bad man!" Ceres puffed, standing with her arms akimbo. This caused the blond scientist to arch an eyebrow, " 'Mama'?"

"Why are you being so mean?"

With a sweeping hand, Julie ushered a frowning Ceres off elsewhere, "Don't worry about the bad man, Ceres. It's just that no one told him he was special when he was little. Now why don't you make us a cup of hot chocolate? And don't be stingy with the whip cream."

Ceres shot Jake one last glare, which somehow ended up being more adorable than scary, and left gingerly. Jake didn't waste a single second before he attacked a thought that had been haunting him now. He looked down at Julie, "'Mama'?"

Julie growled and crossed her arms, "What the hell is your problem!?"

For the first time since she had interacted with the severe scientist, Jake smiled. It was a grin albeit a smirk, but it was still another emotion on his face than a sneer or a scowl, "This 'mama' thing, did you order that hedgehog to call you that?"

"No," Julie replied, "She just called me that by instinct. A term of endearment, you know?"

"Hmm."

"What?"

The blue-eyed scientist smiled at her, although it seemed more artic than warm, "So what is it with you? You created that cute little hedgehog as a companion? As a helpless slave to follow out your own selfish will?"

Robotnik looked as if he has slapped her, "No! She's my best friend. In fact Ceres volunteered to be my lab assistant. I'm not an ass like you!"

Jake chuckled darkly, "Am I finally getting under you skin, Miss Robotnik?"

"I really don't need this right now Jake," Julie hissed, "Shadow and the others probably hate me to the core right now and I really don't feel like getting into it with you. Let's continue our catfight on another day."

"I don't give two shits about you and your emotional qualms," Jake said, looking even more pleasant than before, "I just find it interesting that your twisted, gnarled tree of a family have certain patterns. All you Robotniks enjoy creating little soldiers for you purposes. All your creations are your little puppets. And you have Ceres' strings twisted around your pretty little fingers."

"That's not true," Julie whispered.

"Let's see now…" Jake said with false thoughtfulness, "Let's just review your family history: Gerald Robotnik created Shadow…Ivo Robotnik created Metal Sonic, Scythe, and Achilles..."

"That's not true!" Julie hissed through her teeth.

"Oh yes and then there's you," Jake smiled at her forebodingly, "You continue that cycle nicely; you created cute little Ceres to carry out your evil ways. Just like great granddaddy and daddy, you're going to try and take over the world, aren't you Julie?"

"I'm not like them!" Julie screamed, "_Shut up_!"

"So," Jake breathed in a wintry whisper, "When are you going to mate and bring in your own little devil spawn to continue your evil cycle? It's only a matter of time before you must create the next Robotnik heir to take over the world. So tell me, just who do you have in mind for the---"

Julie interrupted his icy speech with immaculate timing. She planted a good slap across his face. Julie glared at him balefully; Shadow was pissed off at her, Chaos was reeking havoc, and here the tight-ass Jake McCloud had the nerve to be asking about her intimate life!? He had gone too far.

Jake slowly turned to face Julie who glared at him with an equal amount of venom. That shot to his jaw she had sent had actually hurt! And it cleared away his false, condescending jollity. Any type of mirth the boy had earlier wiped away from his face. He was icy stolid again with his chiseled features drawn in a wintry blankness, "…When this is all over Robotnik, I'm going to finish all this and kill you."

Shock veiled her face, "What!?"

"I will be the executioner of the Robotnik bloodline," he acted as if he hadn't heard her. He draped toward her in a deathly, phantom-like mannerism, "From Ivo Robotnik to his father then Gerald Robontik and even his father; all they've done is unleashed terror upon this planet. All of them have been evil, insane driven men. Their minds were far too great like their insanity."

Julie stepped away from Jake as he approached, icy blue eyes scorching, "So I'm going to do the world a favor and wipe out the complete Robotnik bloodline. Your people are an evil, devious breed. The very blood running through your veins is toxic."

Julie stopped backing away from him and glared at him fearlessly, "You back the hell away from me Jake McCloud, or I swear I'll--"

The redhead made a motion to reach for her handheld laser pistol from the holster on her leg, but in one fluid motion, Jake snatched her wrist quickly with smooth yet swift reflexes. He applied pressure easily and twisted her slender wrist excruciatingly. With a fierce calm, he watched as the girl dropped to her knees from the pain.

The laser pistol in the process of their struggle had dropped and was right beside her knee. As she made to grab the weapon with her free hand, Jake kicked the gun away and twisted her arm even further. This time Julie winced, baring her perfect white teeth.

"Submissive," Jake said with a sub-zero precision, "Your family has done nothing but wreck lives for generations and honestly, I shall take it upon myself to see that you don't get your chance at it. That's why I'm going to kill you."

Then he released his grasp and tossed her to the floor, "However, currently you are useful. So until then, you shall be allowed to have a pulse." Jake turned with the wind catching his trench coat and he walked off, the coat trailing after him in a heroic manner. Julie rose to her feet and stared after him with an unshakable calm; there was no point in staying on the ground.

And even though her hand was throbbing with pain, she wasn't going to cradle it; that bastard wouldn't get the sweet satisfaction of seeing her in pain. That night Julie made a resolution, she wasn't going to loose to Jake McCloud. And on that same night, come hell or high water, Jake McCloud was resolved to do everything in his power to break Julie Robotnik.

**--- **

"Are you sure Chaos is over here?"

"It has to be! Remember? He resurrected that really spooky castle!"

Piercing the night sky in a cryptic arch was the towering ancient castle. The stone structure stood against the sky and resonated with a mysterious darkness. Maria shuddered at the thought of near being near that Chaos creep again.

Having those golden, eerie amber eyes upon her was way too freaky. But at least she wouldn't be alone; she'd have Flash and Sol to help her take him down. She'd finally prove herself to everyone and show that she was strong.

Sol was valiantly trudging ahead, gazing at the ancient castle stonily; Maria knew not to mess with him when he was like this. She figured he was probably more than ready to spill Chaos' blood. The white bat shivered slightly; why did Sol decide to pursue vengeance on such a cold night. Couldn't he have done it yesterday when it was nice and mild.

But the red guardian had been trained brutally; regardless of the weather, come scorching heat or arctic cold, it didn't faze him. Sol walked through the icy night as if it wasn't on his mind. Flash on the other hand was freezing. Even his customary green hoodie didn't fight the cold as well as he liked.

"Frick its cold out here," Flash mumbled under his breath, he could see his breath swirling it thick puffs before his eyes, "Hey Maria, are you cold?"

"Y-yeah," Maria smiled as she looked at him, "Are you cold too?"

Flash smiled, "F-freezing my blue ass off."

"It wasn't t-this cuh-cold earlier," Rouge Maria said, "Where did all the h-heat d-disappear to?"

"Hold on a sec," Flash placed a hand on Maria's cheek.

She flushed at the contact, "You're freezing cold. Here, if you huddle closer to me, then we'll get warmer."

Rouge Maria stepped closer to Flash but the only response she got was him blinking his deep green eyes, "Um, you're still too far away from me. We need to actually be touching to get warmer. You know, uh, have contact." Flash turned his head at the last second to avoid his rouging face from being seen.

The albino bat felt her face darken with blush, "Um…um…o-okay."

They both stepped closer to each other and Flash wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked in bated silence. Maria, to clear her head, tried to take a deep breath but it ended up backfiring. Greatly. She was near enough to get a good whiff of Flash's mild cologne. She had to fight her best to muffle a moan, but she wasn't above giving a dreamy look.

_'Umm, he smells so delicious…Yes, Flash es muy delicioso. Hehe, I wonder how he tast--oh crap, oh crap! Stop those bad thoughts!' _

Maria put her head against his chest and sighed contently. Flash glanced at Maria before looking away; she was completely pressed up against him. The famed wide received wasn't sure if she was doing it intentionally, but it was turning him inside-out.

_'Oh crap, she's practically crushed against me. Is she doing this on purpose!? She doesn't seem like the type of girl be all over a guy…crap, I bet she can hear my heart beating. She's doing this intentionally, I know she's trying to get a rise out of me…and it's working!' _

With another sigh, Maria curled closer to Flash as she placed an arm around him. The taller blue hedgehog was an oasis of heat in this ridiculously cold night! And he smelt heavenly too. For a brief second Flash glanced down at Maria. Her eyelashes fluttered before a pair of amethyst irises were revealed.

She met his glaze then smiled at him sweetly. Flash returned her warm gaze easily. Sol, who happened to glance back at his friends looked, turned away, then quickly looked at them again. He was annoyed to see both Maria and Flash huddled together. Those two were practically all over each other. Smothering one another, _'What the hell!? He has his hands all over her. Does she like that?'_

Flash took his eyes off of Maria and glanced up to meet Sol. He swore that for half a second the blue-eyed echidna shot him an arctic glare. Flash had enough sense about him to realize that it had to do something with him being snuggled up with Maria.

The blue hedgehog frowned at Sol's glare, '_Well…if he doesn't like it. Then I'd like to see him pry me off.' _

"Is there a problem?" Flash asked with a cool, yet wintry tone.

"What do you think? You have your hands all over her, you bastard!"

Maria finally was brought to attention, "…What?"

"What's with you!?" Flash hissed, " We're bundled up out here. It's cold."

"Cold my ass. So tell me, Flash," Sol growled, spinning completely to face him, "Are you going to grope her any further?"

"What!?" Maria squeaked, pulling away from the blue hedgehog and glancing back and forth between her friends.

"Okay," Flash deadpanned, "You've gone too far now."

"I've gone too far?" Sol asked with mock surprise, "Clearly I haven't yet, because I haven't even put my hands on her yet!"

"Oh really?" Flash asked, his narrowed eyes a dark shade of emerald, "That's why I saw you forcing your tongue down her throat.

Maria burst aflame with color as Sol flushed before he growled deeply, masking his embarrassment fairly well, "Well then. We're even."

'_Wasn't our original reason for coming here to take care of Chaos!? But then he has to go and take it somewhere else…_' Flash thought, as his fist clenched. But this bad blood between them had been churning between them for awhile now. This bad blood between them had been in each other's veins for so long that they were starting to become poisoned. They were slowly…could it be true? That they were starting to detest each other?

Suddenly Flash smirked, "So, we both knew it'd come to this eventually, huh?"

"…" Sol glared at him but didn't voice else wise.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Maria yelled, glancing between her two friends, "This is stupid!"

Before she knew it, Sol started rushing towards the two of them. Maria gasped, "Flash! We have to stop him!"

But when she looked behind herself, she saw Flash coming right for Flash. Maria froze as she watched her two friends beginning to duke it out. Her blood went cold; _no…this can't be…it's it's just like my nightmare with the knights! _

Maria felt a rush of emotions, most of them being near the spectrum of fear and horror. Hey eyes went wide with horror as she clutched her head_; no! No! No! Stop this! Please stop this! I can't take this!! _

The white bat rushed forward to stop their fight. She was trying to pull them apart as tears rimmed her eyes. Tomboys don't cry, but then again their best friends don't try to beat the life out of each other either.

_"No! Stop it! Stop this right now!!" _

---

Chaos stood near the edge of the island watching the waves lap at the nearby islands below. The tyrant was busy still fuming with his bout with Tikal. He growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose; that stupid, choosy woman! Shouldn't she know greatness when it stood two feet before her?

He really had no intention to harm Tikal. No, he wouldn't want to strike her or he might find himself with an ugly-faced wife. But it would certainly teach her some respect. Turrok shook his head and frowned deeper; great now he was hearing voices in his head.

And why would that stupid girl like Knuckles so much? Perhaps it was the effeminate way he wore his long, womanly quills? If the ancient echidna civilization was still prevalent today, there would be no way that peasant would be able to marry, let alone even look at the princess.

"Am I really so disturbed by that woman that I beginning to hear voices?" Chaos muttered to himself angrily.

Just as he was about to curse Tikal, Pachachamac, Meda, and all relatives of the echidna princess, he paused. This time he was sure that the voice wasn't something he had heard within his own head.

_"No! Stop it! Stop this right now!!" _

---

Maria was grabbing, pushing and pulling, just trying anything to get the two boys apart, but they seemed adamant about their fight. Flash threw a blow and slugged the red echidna across his face. Sol checked his face for blood before he snarled and returned the hit with interest.

Flash hit the ground and grimaced as he lay on his stomach. It was just a hard fact of life but Sol was stronger, much stronger than he was. Sol was a trained guardian and his blows were major. The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes as he clamored to his feet; Sol may be stronger, but he'd be damned if he gave up!

"Stop this! You stop this right now!" Maria clutched Sol's shoulders, "You got him, allright? Enough is _enough_!" Just as Maria slipped her fingers upon his arms, Sol's eyes went blank and he moved away from her. The white bat looked slightly hurt; did he move away from her purposely, "…Sol?"

"Do I mean that little to you?" he asked stolidly.

"What?" Maria whispered.

"Did…did that kiss mean anything to you? Or was it just another way to fill the time?"

"No! It did mean something to me! I…I…I don't play with people's emotions! Especially yours!" Maria cried.

The white bat, for one of the few times, felt nervous standing before Sol. The blank gaze within his eyes, and the cool, impassive expression on his face…This was how he was like when she _first_ came to Angel Island.

_'No…please don't shut me out Sol…please don't do this…' _

The blue hedgehog slowly staggered to his feet, huffing as if he had finished running a marathon. Damn that punch hurt! He blinked, then blinked twice when he saw how close Maria was to Sol. She was staring at him with a dreamy, girlie expression as if she was about to kiss her hero or something.

The blue hedgehog sneered; oh yeah, she'd kiss her hero allright...over his dead, festering body!

With a roar, Flash sprung forward and head-butted Sol. The crimson echidna fell over, sprung up to his feet and charged at Flash. Maria managed to spin behind Flash just in the knick of time to avoid being tackled. Flash parried his attack and sent blow for blow back at Sol.

Maria wrapped her arms around Flash in an attempt to stop him, "Flash, please stop! I know you'll listen to me. Stop this! Please!" This seemed to have had its desired effect as Flash turned to look at her. The violence that once swarmed his jade eyes was gone when he turned to look at her, "Maria…"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Flash noticed Sol had swung a left hook his direction. Flash narrowed his eyes and spun out of the way to avoid the blow. But the wide receiver forgot to consider one factor in his calculations: Maria. By spinning to avoid the blow, he incidentally spun her directly into harm's way.

Flash noticed his mistake a split second before it was too late as did Sol. The guardian's fist connected with Maria's face and sent her sprawling to the floor. Both teen males looked on in horror as she felt the ground with a violent thump.

"Oh shit…" Sol whispered.

"Maria…Maria!!" Flash ran over to his friend and took a knee, "Say something. Are you okay?"

The blue hedgehog shook Maria as she groaned in pain. She turned to look at Flash and blinked at him in stupor. Flash paled as he stared at her face. Sol had connected fairly well with her nose and it was sprouting blood profusely. Sol stared in horror at her face; how could he have hurt her so badly? That was meant for Flash.

"Maria, I'm so sorry…" Sol said, slowly starting to approach her.

The white bat glanced over at him and tried to speak, but it only ended up bringing more pain. Flash combed Maria's wispy bangs out of her face as he assessed the injury. Just as he was about to say something else to the white bat he paused when he heard laughter.

Both Sol and Flash spun around to see Chaos standing no more than ten feet away from them. Flash looked appalled as Sol looked murderous. The orange echidna seemed perfectly at ease with them.

The red echidna froze, he had honestly forgotten about Chaos after his little struggle with Flash. Chaos had brought himself to their front door. Turrok smiled darkly, "Well what do we have here? A failure, and an inferior hedgehog. If I am not mistaken, you fools were headed in my direction. I am not sure whether such actions are bold or foolish."

Seeing the powerful echidna in person was starting to make Flash rethink their previous decision. Their parents couldn't stop this guy, so what really made them think they could? Right now, Chaos looked to be at the top of his game.

Turrok deflected his gaze from Sol at the sound of a cough. His amber eyes slowly trailed from the echidna, to the hedgehog and then to the bleeding girl. Chaos' smile disappeared; that girl was the same white bat who had tried to take him on earlier. If he called correctly she had a nice amount of Chaotic energy.

"Hmm," Chaos narrowed his eyes scrupulously as he began to descend upon Maria's position. However, before he could get anywhere near her, Sol crossed his path. Chaos smirked as Sol glared at him balefully, "Your first battle is with me."

"Ah, I see that you are a glutton for punishment," Chaos smiled darkly, "Now what are you really trying to accomplish with this? Do you wish to cry like a girl? Again?"

"I'm going to save my mother," Sol said through clenched teeth, "And I don't care if anyone thinks I'm too weak to do it…because _I'm going to prove you all wrong! Even if I have to walk through fire and water to achieve it!!_"

With a roar Sol shot off at Chaos. Burning energy flared up around the young echidna in a bright shade of tangerine. He punched, kicked, and pounded away at Turrok with every ounce of strength he had. But Chaos dodged, ducked and parried his strikes like they were nothing. Turrok only laughed at Sol's offensive attempts.

"Better, much better. Indeed you have grown since our last fight. You fight like you really want to do me harm, you fight with much more hunger. But you're still nowhere near close to defeating me," Chaos grinned.

After derisive laughter, Chaos growled before he returned his own blow into Sol's stomach. The young blood gasped before he dropped to his knees. The ocher echidna sent two more powerful blows into Sol's gut before he stopped to admire his handiwork. Chaos smiled in mild satisfaction at the small red line that dripped from Sol's mouth.

Sol coughed fitfully, spraying crimson from his lips. Chaos stooped to his knees to be level with the suffering youth. He grabbed a fistful of Sol's quills and yanked them until Sol came towards him. Sol slowly opened one aquamarine eye before he opened the other.

"You…" Chaos said, poking Sol in the chest with his index finger, "Do not have enough vengeance, not enough hate to destroy me. You wouldn't give your life to defeat me and that is why you shall never defeat me. Isn't that right pathetic one?"

Flash grimaced at the scene and turned to help Maria up, "Come on Maria, we gotta get outta here and get help." Maria made a muffled noise of protest and Flash turned to look at her, "We're not going to abandoning him for long, Superstar. We need to get help and we need to get you outta here."

"I…I…hate you," Sol hissed as he bared his teeth, "I have more than enough anger to fuel my hatred of you!"

"No pathetic one. Your hatred isn't strong enough yet," Chaos smiled, "You wouldn't sell you soul to defeat me. That is how strong your thirst for vengeance must be."

In a blitz Chaos disappeared, dropping his death-grip on Sol and then reappeared behind Flash and Maria. The blue hedgehog tried to hit Chaos with a kick, but Flash only ended up being flung to the floor some five feet away.

The amber echidna glanced at the white bat with a dark glint in his eyes and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Turrok narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the hyperventilating bat_, 'So, this is the bat with high Chaotic energy? This creature is no more than a mere girl.' _

Despite the blood running down her face, Chaos did take the time to notice that she was quite attractive. Turrok wondered is Sol felt the same way about this stupid girl, "Pathetic one. Do you see this girl? Would you be willing to exchange her life for mine? Do you hate me that much? That you would be willing to exchange my life for hers?"

Sol went pale at the sight of a struggling Maria within the confines of Turrok. The amber-eyed echidna narrowed his eyes, "No…see, you are far too weak. And because of your weakness, I shall help you. I shall give you yet another reason why you shall hate me. I have stripped you of your guardianship and I have taken your mother for my own pleasures and yet you do not have enough hate? Oh your weakness is laughable!"

Turrok glanced around; _now let's see, how should I make the boy hate me even more? Crushing the girl is always a fine option, suffocating her is another choice…but_…Amber eyes glanced to the side. He glanced over at the deep drop over the sea. They were pretty close to the edge of island. Suddenly an idea came to Chaos.

He walked to the side and left Maria dangle over the edge. She winced and whimpered in pain; the only thing saving her from being dropped over the side of the island were Chaos' hands around her neck.

Sol's eyes widened, "No…don't…don't do it!"

"And now look at you," Chaos narrowed his eyes in disgust, "You grovel and beg? Just what type of guardian grovels!?"

Chaos squeezed Maria's neck, eliciting a slight cry from her and Sol jumped to his feet, "Pathetic one. You need more motivation, you need more hate. If you ever plan on defeating me, you shall need more anger! And you must loose these useless attachments!"

Turrok narrowed his eyes before he released his hold on Maria. Sol gasped before he rushed forward, "_Maria!!"_

Sol rushed to the spot where Chaos stood, in an attempt to see if he could help Maria. However, while Sol was rushing to aid his friend, he completely forgot about Chaos. Turrok narrowed his amber eyes before he hand his hand glow green with his stolen power of the Master emerlard.

He jarred Sol in the stomach once more. The echidna youth's eyes went wide before they rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Chaos smirked at the unconscious boy in his arms then glared at Flash.

"You! Inferior hedgehog! Boy, I shall only share you this once. And go and tell your pathetic friends about this night! The batgirl has been tossed off of the island, probably to either drown or have her face broken and I shall kidnap this boy. Now run!"

Flash glanced at the cliff, at Sol, then at Chaos before he took off. His inherited supersonic speed got him out of there in no time flat. Chaos looked down at Sol and smiled licentiously; so now I have the pathetic one? He smiled even deeper when another thought crossed his mind.

Just what in the world would Tikal be willing to do to keep her son from harm? As Chaos turned and headed back to his resurrected castle, he suddenly had an image of Tikal crying and kneeling at his feet.

Oh yes, this boy was the key to her undoing.

* * *

**-To be continued!**

-_Woo! That was a long chapter! Haha, wow, it looks like Scythe answered the reviews and did what he does best: pissed people off! Well this time I'll have the cute Daisy answer the reviews. Go get 'em Shortcake!_

Daisy: Okay! I hope Scythe hasn't screwed up too badly. He's such a pain some times!

Lil' Halo: Hey! Hello there! Cool! I'm so glad you like Epilogue! (squeals) 'Kay, keep on readin'! It's so awesome to receive such positive reviews! (giggles) See you later!

Mystery001: Hey there Mystery001! Wow, this is such an awesome review! (Looks terrified) Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Achilles IS back! Aah! Th-thanks for you review!

SexyShadowGirl: Hellooooo there SexyShadowGirl! Whoa, what a long review! Yahoo! Who doesn't love long reviews!? (Looks afraid again) Y-yeah, Achilles IS really, really strong! He was able to beat almost like everyone! (Sighs) Oh no…I really hope Scythe didn't make an ass of himself when he did those reviews…What? HE DID!? (Looks ten times more embarrassed) When I'm done with this, he is in SO much trouble! But yah, Ultrra did read your Satin Princess Review! He was on cloud nine! Haha! Thank you for the review!

#17: Hello #17! (groans) Yeah, Scythe DID make an ass out of himself! I swear, he could start a fight with a pope! Haha, oh! Omega has flamethrows!? My goodness? What is he!? Like a freakin' one man army!? (Laughs nervously) This Omega character sounds like someone I don't wanna mess with! 'Kay, thanks for the review!

Xowdash: Hey Xowdash! Wow, try saying that ten times fast! Thanks for the reviews and the support! Keep reading and reviewing, yeah? (Winks)

Shadowsole: Aloha Shadowsole! Or should I say Shadow of the sole…Gosh, that's really deep! (Smiles) Cool! Ha! I see I really need to punish Scythe (Cracks Knuckles) He really lets his mouth get him into trouble!

Shadougexx: You got it!

Frostbyte64: Hey Frostbye64! Hehe…yeah…woo! Achilles (Looks scared) But who know where things will go now that Achilles is awake. He's really REALLY strong so maybe we'll be able to defeat that jerk Chaos! 'Kay, thanks for the review!


	12. Ryuenjin

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Sorry for the long delay, but hey, guess what? The next chapter is here! And it's going to be a _long_ chapter, so go; no no no, don't complain, just go, get some chips, maybe even a soda and then come back and enjoy the chapter.

-And taking bathroom breaks in between is a-okay too. I just hope this chapter isn't hope of typos!

---

_"It was quite pleasant being in your company this evening, young Maria," Maw-maw smiled, "I do not have another spare bed for you, but I hope you will have no qualms sharing with Verve?"_

_Maria smirked, "As long as he's under the age of twelve, I've got no problems. That's before the age when boys become all pervy."_

_"What was that?"_

_"…Er…nothing…"_

---

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

_Ryuenjin_: "Dragonfire Blade"

_"Shadow!" _

_"Oh Shadoow!" _

_"Hm?" _

_The ultimate life form lazily peeled open an eye, "Yeah?" _

_The claret streaked hedgehog was comfortably resting on his back with his hands behind his head. Above him was the clear, sapphire blue sky and below him were the emerald-green tufts of grass. _

_The day was beautiful, and here he was out enjoying every bit of it and soaking up every single ray of sunshine. Just as Shadow found himself closing his eyes again, a large beach ball smacked him right in the face. _

_Shadow popped up and spluttered as laughter rang out around him. The ultimate one turned toward the sound of the laughter and glared. His glare was directed towards the two, pristine-furred bats before him. _

_The first bat was a little girl who had big, pretty bright fuchsia eyes and was no older than ten summers. The second giggling bat was a more mature, womanly, older version of her daughter. Unlike her daughter though, this bat had bright aquamarine eyes that could either shine in a shade of green or blue. _

_"All right, who threw that?" Shadow whispered with a false menacing voice. _

_"I did!" The little bat proclaimed. _

_"Uh-oh, you shouldn't have done that, Maria," the aqua-eyed bat exclaimed, "Now you're in for it!" _

_"Could too!" the little bat piped, "Because daddy's a slow, big fat meanie!" _

_"Okay, that's it," Shadow said, rising to his feet, "I would have let that all slide, but when you called me a meaine…you sealed your own doom!" _

_After flashing the little Maria a devious grin, Shadow proceeded to chase the screaming girl around the park. After allowing her to run for a couple of yards, Shadow quickly wrapped her away in his arms. _

_"Ah! Nooo! I'm caught! Help me! Help me!" Maria cried out playfully. _

_"Hmph. Oh how the wicked tremble. And now, you shall meet your demise with my…Super Chaos Control Attack!" _

_The 'Super Chaos Control Attack' was nothing more than a super-fast tickle attack. Maria screamed with laughter as she giggled and guffawed and tried to do any and everything to get out of her dad's clutches. _

_After finishing up with his daughter, Shadow spun around with a dramatic slowness to face his wife. Although his face looked dead serious, she was able to catch the mischievous glint dancing in his claret eyes. _

_"And why do I think you had something to do with this treachery, Rouge?" _

_But Rouge was never one to back down from a challenge, "And what if I was?" _

_"Then I'm afraid you'll have to be punished as well." _

_"Perhaps, but I won't be caught as easily as Maria." _

_Just as Rouge spun around to make a getaway, Shadow appeared right in front of her. Blue eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the black and red hedgehog. Shadow studied her expression of surprise then smirked contently. He looked awfully smug right about now, "As you were saying?" _

_"Heh," the white bat smirked. _

_In a blur of movement, Rouge disappeared right before his eyes and she reappeared behind him. She placed her chin on his shoulder and grinned up at the back of his head smoothly, "Oh? And just what were _you_ saying?" _

_As Rouge's smile was growing more and more dangerous, she blinked. Despite her counter, she could have sworn she heard Shadow's laughter. And she was correct. A low, deep chuckle escaped the hedgehog as he barely turned his head to glimpse at her, "Rouge…I thought by now you would have realized." _

_She quirked an eyebrow, "Realized what?" _

_A sinful expression stole Shadow's face, "That I absolutely love it when you play hard to get and it excites me." _

_With that quip Shadow disappeared, leaving a teetering Rouge. Just as she was trying to adjust her balance, Shadow slipped right behind her and caught her smoothly within his grip. Rouge gasped as she was dipped backwards and Shadow hovered forward. With the pose they were both in, one might think they were performing some sort of tango routine. _

_"I am a pure born hunter and warrior. It was what I was created to do. And when I see prey that is willing to give chase, I am more than tempted to pursue. And you," Shadow's words were softer than velvet as he ran his hand through the curls of her silken hair, "lovely huntress, are the best temptation that I have ever chased." _

_Shadow's deep ruby eyes lingered on Rouge's face for a second longer before he closed in for the kill. The pallid bat within his fingers closed her eyes sweetly as she awaited the actions of her husband. _

_As Shadow inched closer to those poised, pretty lips of hers, his eyes suddenly snapped open and his movement halted. Shadow's breath hitched; he's a thoroughbred hunter right? Well those hunter/warrior senses of his was telling, no, warning him that something wasn't right. _

_Blood red eyes narrowed; oh yeah, something was definitely amiss. After awaiting a kiss for so long, Rouge's eyes slowly slipped open. She studied his face and demeanor for a second before she spoke, "Shadow, what's wrong?" _

_Her aquamarine eyes focused on him on a moment before she swiftly focused upon something behind him. A terrible blend of horror and shock stole her features, "Maria!!" _

_Releasing Rouge to stand on her own two feet, Shadow spun to find the cause of her distress. Shadow promptly felt his heart sink, "…No…" _

_While Maria was busy practicing, dribbling a basketball in between her legs, a tall, smiling golden hedgehog was slowly creeping closer. Although it seemed like they were miles away, in truth, Rouge and Shadow only stood no less than one hundred meters from their daughter. _

_"Maria!" both Shadow and Rouge's voices blended and mingled into one dreadful cry. _

_The girl glanced up instantly at the terrible sound of her parent's voices. Her smile disappeared as she saw them both charge towards her. Daddy looked furious; trying to run his fastest as mommy looked scared, screaming. _

_Maria slowly circled around and gasped at the sight of the beaming golden hedgehog. She blinked, slightly startled that some strange guy was standing right behind her. In his bright blue eyes she saw her own reflection in them. _

_What were mommy and daddy worried about? This guy didn't seem like a bad guy. If anything he was kinda nice, and he smiled too. With a roar, Shadow dove at the golden newcomer as Rouge went to protectively cradle Maria. _

_As Shadow sailed right at the newcomer, to both his surprise and horror, Shadow seemed to soar right through him phantom-like. The black and red hedgehog hit the ground with a terrible impact. The second his flesh hit the ground he groaned. _

_Shakily Shadow pushed himself to his knees as he glared up at the golden-furred newcomer. The gold hedgehog chuckled as he seemed to ignore Shadow and fixed his gaze on the two white bats, "Hello girls. I'm Achilles, it's nice to meet you." _

_With a second roar, Shadow reached for Achilles, but the same result followed and he only melted right through the gold hedgehog. Shadow's face contorted with disbelief as his hand went straight through Achilles, 'What the hell is happening!? Why can't I hit him!?' _

_Shadow felt himself freeze as the smiling gold hedgehog suddenly lashed out toward Maria. The young white bat screeched as she covered her eyes. However before Achilles could make his way to Maria, Rouge interceded. _

_Rouge shielded her daughter as she wrapped her arms tightly around Maria. It was the only move she could pull off in such a short time, but by protecting her daughter, she sacrificed herself. The second Achilles' hand came in contact with Rouge, time froze. The white bat's eyes went wide as she inhaled sharply. _

_Maria screamed as Shadow's face went blank: Achilles had managed to lodge his hand straight through Rouge's chest cavity. Despite the pain darkening her eyes, Rouge managed one last smile at her daughter, "Mar..ia…mo…mmy loves y..ou..." _

_With the last of her strength used in her whispery words, the white bat closed her eyes as she fell down lifelessly. Maria began to cry as Shadow began to appear as if he was ready to have a mental breakdown. _

_"Mama!!" Maria cried her eyes watering. _

_"No…" Shadow began shaking, "Not again…" _

_Maria went over to the lifeless form of her mother and tried prodding her but it was no use, she wouldn't stir. Her mother's eyes were closed and her expression was surprisingly peaceful, as if she was slumbering. _

_Little Maria's eyes brimmed with scorching tears as she continued to shake her mother, "Mama! Mama please get up! Please…" _

_The black and crimson hedgehog dropped to his knees, "I've lost her again…Why couldn't I have protected her…" _

_Rouge's miniature replica cried over her mother's lifeless shell. Hot tears seeped into Rouge's modest top as Maria buried her face in her mother's shirt, "Please mommy wake up…please…I promise I'll clean my room from now on…" _

_Shadow sat on his knees idly as tremors racked his body. Every inch of his system shook as he felt his stomach toss and turn with a heavy, steely nausea. He could only watch as Rouge was mercilessly murdered by that insane hedgehog's hands. _

_Tears began to blur his vision as a lump grew in his throat. She was…dead? She was dead. Dead. With shaking hands, Shadow buried his face within his hands; he felt as if his world was capsizing. _

_"…Why…why does this always happen…Rouge…please…forgive me…" _

_Maria wiped her runny nose and finally peered up as a dark shadow loomed overhead. The white bat blinked up at the source of the sudden shade. Standing over her with a large grin in place was none other than the golden hedgehog. _

_His chest was covered with blood, as if he had tried to remove the foreign substance off of his hands by wiping it upon himself. Achilles wiped aimlessly at his chin, staining himself further before he greeted the little girl with a smile, "What's wrong little girl? You look sad." _

_"You…you," Maria sniffled, "You hurt her! My mommy won't wake up!" _

_"You know," Achilles said with a soft grin as he bent down on his knees to be eyelevel with Maria, "You remind me of something." _

_"You hurt my mommy!" Maria cried out, but Achilles seemed unfazed by this. _

_"Don't be sad, little caterpillar," Achilles beamed at her and displayed a row of fine white teeth, "you'll be with your mother soon enough." _

_"Ca-caterpillar?" Maria glanced at him with round, bulbous purple eyes. _

_"Yeah, Caterpillar. Caterpillars grow up to turn into butterflies. And since you're still a little kid, you haven't grown up yet and become a butterfly, and that's why I call you caterpillar," Achilles poked Maria playfully in the nose, leaving a red blood stain on her small nose. _

_"But don't worry Caterpillar, I'll bring you to your mother. And you'll both be together in the afterlife." _

_Achilles slowly rose to his feet. Something about his slow, stealthy mannerisms made Maria think of a ghost, a phantom. Although Achilles was smiling, there was still something dangerous and chilling about his actions. _

_"D-daddy…" Maria barely whispered, eyes still glued to Achilles. _

_But Shadow was still in his own universe, mourning over the loss of his soul mate, "Rouge…forgive me…I couldn't protect you…" _

_"Daddy…" Maria tried again. _

_"Rouge…" _

_"Daddy!" _

_"…Forgive me…" Shadow cried out, eyes blurred with tears. _

_Maria glanced back at Achilles, only to see the golden menace raising his hands above his head. With his customary smile in place and the blood smeared on his body and face like war paint, Achilles' hands were ignited with a bright blue energy. Maria's eyes grew wide as her irises constricted. _

_Achilles chuckled as insanity danced within his bright blue eyes, "Goodnight Caterpillar." _

_"**Daddy!!**" _

_The frantic cry snapped Shadow out of his trance and he instantly turned to look over at the sound of his daughter's voice. The sight he was greeted with was not at all pretty: Achilles was standing over his gaping daughter with burning, energy-infused hands. _

_"Maria…" Shadow whispered, then he jumpstarted his senses and jetted right for them, "Maria!!" _

_Shadow felt his heart sink as the last sight he was greeted with was a laughing Achilles slamming his hands into his screaming daughter. The black and crimson hedgehog felt his strength zapped from right under himself; first Rouge, now Maria? His cute, loving, little Maria? _

_Suddenly all the grief, pain, rage, and sorrow became too much for the crimson-streaked hedgehog; he felt as if his head was being pulled twelve different ways. _

_The tidal wave of painful emotions brought the hedgehog to his knees: first his legs gave out, then his knees, and it seemed that he lost all control in his arms. He collapsed listlessly as he felt the next thing to go was his sight. _

_"Achilles…" Shadow whispered. _

_The golden menace was just a bright, sunny blur of color now. The last thing to go was his mind and then blissfully Shadow blacked out, as the red curtains fell; the show was over. _

"Shadow?"

"Shadow?"

_'Hn, just like the beginning of the daydream…' _

"Shadow?" A carnation-pink hedgehog with grassy green eyes popped up into his vision, "Are you okay? You've been staring at nothing for the past few minutes."

"I'll never be okay if _he_ is awake and functioning."

The pink hedgehog frowned; Shadow must have been referring to Achilles, "Shadow…it's the only way…You know that Julie would have never brought him back. But…Chaos has become exceedingly powerful."

Shadow closed his eyes as a sneer tore across his face, "And am I supposed to be okay with that!? Well I'm not!"

"I understand your feelings," Amy sighed, "We all feel the same way. No one in their right mind wanted to bring that psycho back…But we don't have much of a choice…It seems that each second Chaos grows stronger."

The crimson and red antihero sat with the same nasty expression plastered on his face. While Amy did have a good point, he still wasn't ever going to ever be cool with Achilles. Ever.

Suddenly Shadow chuckled darkly. This brought Amy to glance at him cautiously. The dark hedgehog glanced into space with a cruel smirk, "You know what Gerald once told me?"

"No," she barley whispered.

"Gerald once asked me, 'Shadow, do you know when a person truly hates another being? Truly detests another person?''"

The green-eyed hedgehog gulped; somehow she knew this wasn't going to be pleasant, "H-how?"

Shadow didn't bat an eyelash, " 'When a person is willing to sacrifice all they have, possess, and even their life, to bring another person to their ultimate downfall, that is when true hate is present.' Amy, I believe by Gerald's definition, I loathe…Achilles."

It seemed that when Shadow spoke the golden hedgehog's name, he spat it out of his mouth like it left behind a foul aftertaste. This statement seemed to bother Amy the most, "…Would you really give up everything you hold dear to your heart to bring him down?"

Amy swore that just for a moment, Shadow's eyes faded into a steely black color, "Yes. I think I would give my soul to see him dead."

"Would you give up Maria?" Amy whispered.

That statement seemed to have brought Shadow back to earth. Oh yeah, that question definitely brought him out of his dark daydreams; Shadow was just awoken with a verbal slap in the face.

The pink hedgehog's green eyes glittered sadly as she smiled at him, "Sometimes, even the ultimate life form speaks before he thinks, huh?"

Shadow quickly opened his mouth to speak, but the delicate touch of Amy's hand silenced him. The cherry-pink hedgehog cupped his face lightly within her palms, and emerald greens met ruby reds.

"I know. You would never sacrifice your precious daughter, even for the chance to axe murder Achilles. But the point I make is this: rage is a terrible weapon and it can drive even the best of people to commit horrid atrocities. Yes, even you, Shadow the Hedgehog, can be controlled by rage; own your emotions, don't let them own you."

The black hedgehog closed his eyes, mediating on the words that were just spoken. Amy smiled slightly as she turned to leave; Shadow would need some time to himself to ponder upon his thoughts and feelings.

Just as Amy was making her way back to the Echidna's home, she heard Shadow's voice and surprisingly, it sounded light-hearted, "Rose Hedgehog."

"Yep?" Amy smiled as she spun to glance at him.

"You just told me to control myself, correct?"

"…Essentially, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because," Shadow smirked, looking a bit like himself, "The _same _boy-crazy girl who chased Sonic up and down the streets is telling _me_ to control myself!?"

Amy Rose's face went under an interesting transformation; it went from being stark white, then to pink, then to being a full-out cherry complexion. Shadow managed to laugh lightly at her obvious embarrassment.

"Hey!" Amy roared, her face glowing like Rudolph's nose, "So even when you're sad! You're still a bastard!!"

Then, just as Amy was about to take another step, she spun and faced him coyly. She had a sly expression upon her face, "Oh and by the way, you just _wish_ it was _you_ I was chasing."

Shadow laughed for a split second as he watched the pink hedgehog flip her quills girlishly before she disappeared, "…Oh no, I'm quite pleased that you were after and _only_ after that faker…"

---

Maria groaned as the blurry world slowly began to untwist and mold into a clear sight. Blotches of brown, tan and copper filled her vision before her memory jarred her into clear consciousness, "Chaos!"

And with that word, Maria jolted upright only to find herself in a rather plain white, thin quilted bed. The girl halted in her actions; _wait a minute, what am I doing here? I should be on Angel Island. Where am I?_

"Ah, she awakens."

She turned to the sound of the smooth, placid voice. Even though Maria hadn't seen the owner of the voice, somehow she knew she wasn't in danger. But it still didn't hurt to be a little suspicious, "H-hello?"

The wooden door budged open and an old, withering tan echidna appeared. Her wrinkles around her face and on her frail arms indicated her to have been maybe four or five times Maria's age.

Unlike Sol's stern, sharp-eyed great-grandmother, this old woman appeared soft and kindhearted. In fact she even brought a bowl of food along with her visit.

"Hello darling, how are you feeling?"

"A little hazy, but--" Maria paused and suddenly noticed the change in her clothing. She found herself plucking at an over feminine white dress that was hemmed at the edges with lace. The hedgehog-bat hybrid frowned; this was definitely not her style. She wanted to look like a hero not like some damsel who popped out of a nursery book.

Maria could only find four words to express her thoughts on her new apparel, "…The hell is this?"

"My, such a mouth on such a fair girl," the old echidna smiled, "Do pardon me, but when I found you, you were washed up on our shore and completely soaked to the bone. I found you the nicest batch of clothes I could find though."

"Uh, thank you," Maria's eyes darted away from the woman before they glanced back, "Oh, by the way my name's Maria."

"Maple," the old woman smiled, "and welcome to Angel Heights."

"Maw-maw, is the girl awake yet?"

A red echidna with large gray eyes entered the bedroom. When he glanced at Maria he gasped, then instantly hid behind the older echidna's legs. He hadn't expected the girl to be up yet!

From what Maria could tell, the kid couldn't have been any older than a kindergartener. Heck, so there was someone out there that was even younger than her friend Sunny! Maria smiled at the kid's bashful display.

"My, Verve, where are your manners? Don't be so shy, she's a really sweet girl. Maria, this is my grandson Verve. He usually isn't this shy! In fact we usually have to take extreme measures just to simply get him to hush up!"

Maria chuckled as she turned to look the gray-eyed kid, "Hey there little guy, I won't bite." Verve slowly pulled away from his grandmother as Maria made a motion to stand and approach him. The second she took a step toward him…

…She fell flat out on her face.

"OW! WHY SONOVA!!---"

---

Flash tore through the night with a savage speed. He clenched his teeth as he sailed and ducked under various tree branches. The sapphire-blue hedgehog forced his way through the thick bushes and wild, brightly-colored ferns.

He was tired of running away. Why was Sol the only one who fought Chaos? Even Maria tried to take him on the first time they saw him. Flash was almost tempted to turn around and try to take on Chaos by himself; keyword almost.

It would be an idiotic move to try to pull off because of several reasons: A.) Chaos' strength was growing exponentially B.) Maria's conditions were unknown C.) Chaos was strong enough to take on Sonic, Knuckles, Scythe and Shadow D.) Chaos probably had the strength to punch someone into the thirtieth century. E.) Refer to choice D. again.

Flash soared over another tree limb effortlessly; _damn, maybe I should do track._ _Crap, what am I thinking? I have to get back to the others and get their help. Chaos kidnapped Sol and Maria… _

Bright green eyes darkened; _Maria…I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you…I hope you're still okay…and if you're not…I'm sorry… _

As Flash continued to race through the wild landscape, his vision began to blurry from tears. _Come on, guys don't cry. But then again, their best friends aren't potentially dead… _

The thought of the fair, spunky, tomboyish, beautiful, vibrant, Maria being dead made Flash feel nauseous. The thought of Maria being dead because he couldn't help her made him feel like his soul was iced. Flash blinked as a building was slowly starting to appear.

The stone home of the Echidnas was slowly coming into view, and judging from the candle light, someone was home. The wide receiver narrowed his eyes as a new rejuvenation flowed through his veins like fire, '_Dammit. Maria, I don't care what it costs, but I swear it, I'm going to avenge you. This I promise.' _

---

" Maria is up." Verve's grandmother entered a room.

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

"…"

"Plato…I'm so glad that girl's okay. She's such a sweetie."

An old echidna narrowed his eyes as he leaned back into his chair. His sharp eyes focused upon the room's fireplace where the flames danced and leapt brilliantly.

Plato's frown grew deeper; _that girl is completely, almost nearly healed? Just how is that possible? When I first saw her, I thought she was dead_.

---

_It was a normal morning; Plato always rose at the peak of dawn to go fishing. Here at Angel Heights, life was generally mild and peaceful. The aged echidna was just starting to fish as his eyes suddenly caught site of something floating off in the water. _

_'What in the name of the Master Emerald is that? Its far too big too be a fish…' _

_The older echidna took his paddle and began to row through the dark purple water. Once he pedaled closer, he gasped when he realized that the unknown floating object…was a girl! The old man instantly stopped his rowing and dove in the water. _

_It was unbelievably icy, but there was a girl in the water. That was someone's daughter in there! Plato swam and treaded until he was able to scoop up the girl and carry her back to his boat. _

_The old echidna set the soaked girl down lightly and lit a lantern. Plato leaned closer to check for a heartbeat. It was faint, but she was indeed alive. Plato blinked once he caught site of her busted nose. _

_He slowly touched her nose and jumped when she shifted. The unconscious girl moaned and turned her head. Her eyes were clenched shut tightly and her teeth were bared. Plato removed his soaked jacket and placed it over the girl; it wasn't much protection from the cold, but it was better than nothing. _

_Plato glanced at the girl for a second before he resumed paddling in the water. Today it looked like he wouldn't be selling any fish. He had a young girl to care for. 'You poor girl, don't worry, I'm going to take care of you.' _

_--- _

Plato clasped his hands together as he stared into the fire; he was glad that she made a recovery. But a nearly complete one? As his kind wife offered a cup of tea he smiled and shook his head.

The old echidna smiled before she headed out to check on Maria again. Once the door closed behind her, the graying echidna narrowed his eyes; yes, there was definitely something more to this girl.

"Well, are you coming to dinner? Both Verve and Maria are waiting downstairs?"

The old echidna nodded his head before he slowly rose out of his chair with much protest form his old bones. The old echidna sighed irritably; his joints just weren't what they were twenty years ago!

As the old couple made their way to their quaint, wooden dinner table, Maria smiled as she acknowledged them respectfully. After introducing himself and shaking her hand, Plato left.The old man took a seat at the head of the table as the old woman set the bowls before everyone and went to fetch tonight's dinner.

"Psst!" Maria was elbowed by the young echidna boy.

"What is it little man?"

"Tonight's dinner is my favorite! Its stew!" he beamed, "And no one makes stew better than Maw-maw!"

Maria beamed at Verve for a second as she watched Maw-maw fill the bowls with a thick, rich looking soup. The bat-hedgehog hybrid had to fight from drooling.

The echidna woman placed a bowl of stew before her. Maria smiled and thanked her before she dove in. She was famished and ate the way a dehydrated man took in water.

The white bat only paused when she saw that the others weren't eating as well. Verve, Maw-maw, and Paw-paw each had one helping as she was starting on her second.

"Hey, why aren't you guys eating either?" Maria asked, filling her bowl to the brim with the chunky, meaty goodness. The echidna woman smiled thinly, "There is not enough for us all to eat seconds. Please, eat to your fill, young woman."

"Maw-maw?" Verve asked, suddenly looking vey guilty, "M-may I--?"

"No," for the first time, Maple looked stern, "You will not have anymore. Maria is very ill and is trying to recover. Be selfless."

"Yes Maw-maw," Verve said, looking down sadly.

The white bat suddenly stopped. Even though her stomach was protesting her actions, Maria put the bowl down. How could she? She couldn't just come in here and eat all their food. They couldn't afford her! And besides, look at cute Verve! He was watching her every move as she ate, she couldn't eat as he starved!

" I-I can't." Maria bowed her head slightly, "I can't eat your food. You yourselves have to eat, and you have to feed this cute little guy! Verve!"

"I'm okay," Verve mumbled; he said one thing, but his eyes said another.

"Do not make us feel anymore poor than what we truly are," the old man smiled, "Eat."

"I…can't," Maria whimpered, her eyes growing twice their size until they were big and round.

"Please young lady eat I tr---"

"I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan't!!" Maria wailed.

"Well," Maw-maw gave a stern look, "I suppose Verve could have one more bowl…"

"Really!?" Verve blinked, suddenly looking animated.

"Only if it's okay with Maria," the old echidna woman smiled at the white bat.

"Of course, now let's dig in together, little man!"

Maria and Verve both attacked the remains of the stew until it was all gone, although Maria allowed Verve to have most of it. Maria watched contentedly as the young boy spooned the piping-hot stew into his mouth. He really was hungry; he was putting that stuff away!

"You know," he said, shoving another mouthful of soup into his mouth, "Paw-paw tells me stories about an emerald that has a great power. And it's not just any emerald but its big and huge! It's called the Master Emerald."

The pallid bat's face went blank for a second before she looked amused, "Oh really?"

Maria smiled as she looked at the two older echidnas. Both Maw-maw and Paw-paw looked content with their grandson. She listened as Verve continued his excited prattling, "And he told me about these echidnas that watch over the emerald. They can even fly through the air and sail!"

"Verve, either speak or chew. Not both," Paw-paw sighed as Maw-maw smiled.

Blinking, Maria cocked her head to the side, "You mean 'glide'?"

"Yeah! That's it! They glide! They glide through the sky!" Verve exclaimed, making his spoon fly through the air.

The white bat blinked as something hit her, "Wait a tic, you echidnas can't glide?"

Verve shook his head, "Nope, only the watchers of the Master Emerald can! Now what are they called…watchers, keepers?"

"…Guardians?" Maria arched a fine eyebrow. Verne smiled at her and looked back and forth between his grandparents and the girl, "…Does she know this story too!?"

Suddenly Maria burst out with nervous laughter; should she tell these people that she actually knew _the_ guardians themselves!? Tikal, Knuckles, and their fine hunk of a son? Maybe she shouldn't; playing it low-key was better.

"Haha, no. I'm just…er, a good guesser, that's all. But all this emerald stuff sounds really…er…interesting."

Maw-maw beamed as she nodded her head, but Maria failed to miss the look that past over Paw-paw's face for a split second. The old echidna excused himself and wished everyone a goodnight before he headed off.

By now, it was far too dark to try to head off, so with little convincing, Maria decided to stay for the night, she'd have to catch up with her dad and the others later, there were no signs of electricity here or any device that would get her in contact with her family.

"It was quite pleasant being in your company this evening, young Maria," Maw-maw smiled, "I do not have another spare bed for you, but I hope you will have no qualms sharing with Verve?"

Maria smirked, "As long as he's under the age of twelve, I've got no problems. That's before the age when boys become all pervy."

"What was that?"

"…Er…nothing…"

"Well then, goodnight and I'll see you in the morning."

Maria volunteered to help Verve clean the dishes and halfway through cleaning the dishes, Verve accidentally splashed Maria and she 'accidentally' splashed him back.

Then they both 'accidentally' had a water fight. And when Maw-maw came downstairs and saw the mess, she 'accidentally' made the both of them clean the whole place spotless.

---

A nudge to the side, "_Awaken_."

No response.

A second kick to the side, "_Stand up Pathetic one_."

Still no response.

Now a third shot to the side was ushered. Only this time it was meant to hurt. Sol was instantly roused into consciousness as he was sent sliding a few inches. Sol groaned as he quickly cradled his throbbing side; he was sure it would bruise.

Sol opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to clear his hazy vision. The sight his eyes brought where unbelievable. It looked as if he was within the walls of an old castle. He had been left unconscious lying on the cold stone floor.

"_You must enjoy violence as it seems to be the only thing you respond to." _

The crimson-furred guardian glanced up and met eyes with Turrok. Sol felt venom beginning to boil up inside of his systems by just the sight of Chaos alone, "_YOU!!"_

The ocher echidna smiled darkly, "_For the longest time I've been debating about what to do with you…Perhaps I should end your sorry existence now…or bring your father to his knees by taking you hostage." _

With a snarl Sol rose to his feet and lunged at Chaos. It didn't matter that he was still suffering injuries from his previous counter, and it didn't matter that Sol knew he was inadequate to stop Chaos; nothing mattered because he was seeing red.

Chaos avoided Sol's lunge with a liquid smoothness before he spun around and gave the boy a shot to his stomach. With a groan Sol collapsed to splash out rather nicely on the floor. The fire-furred guardian growled as his aquamarine eyes iced vituperatively.

"_So,_" Chaos continued as if he hadn't been interrupted with Sol's attempt at taking his life, "_I have decided that I will train you."_

Sol blinked once. Then he blinked again, "…_What_?"

_"You should be honored that a guardian of my status has taken favor to you,_" Turrok smirked, "_and has decided to train you properly, unlike the backwater techniques that your father has taught you. But what do you except? He is of the peasant class and has taught you abominable peasant techniques." _

Turrok quickly took a knee and grabbed a handful of Sol's quills. With one sharp tug, he brought Sol's face closer to his. Chaos allowed his golden, gleaming eyes to fix on the youth derisively, "_You should be honored that I have chosen to spare your life even as insignificant as it is." _

The amber-eyed echidna chucked Sol to the floor gracelessly as he turned away, _"Perhaps through this training you will be able to reclaim your title as the heir to the Master Emerald." _

"_Now just why in the hell would I 'train' with you!?"_ Sol hissed through his teeth.

Sol slowly rose to his feet as he glared holes into Turrok's back. There was nothing that he wanted to do more than to tear him apart. Perhaps he would be able to finish Chaos off in a sparring session.

"_Well, just imagine this as you chance to finally finish me off, right Pathetic one?_"

Smirking, Chaos spun to face Sol. He watched with hidden interest as he observed Sol's eyes cloud over ominously; the echidna youth was busy picturing ways of murdering the tyrannical echidna.

And with one word, he started his first session with Sol, "_Rendalia_."

Dance.

And with a cry Sol charged at him.

---

Just as Amy was entering the Echidna's home, Sonic was exiting it. Both lovers froze as they met each other at the door. The pink hedgehog was the first to respond, "Sonic, you guys are back already?"

The cerulean champion sighed, "Yeah, and we're back with extra luggage…if ya catch my drift."

Amy winced slightly; Achilles was back with them, "Yeah, I got it."

"…" Sonic just frowned pensively at the ground.

"…" Amy bit her lip as her eyes shied away.

"Amy---"

"---Sonic"

They both interrupted each other at the same time. Both sets of emerald eyes widened before Sonic chuckled. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Heh, you go first Amykins."

"Er, okay." She gulped before she began to twiddle her thumbs together in a nervous fashion. This caused Sonic to arch an interested eyebrow.

Whoa, was his cute little Amykins nervous about something? Heck, she was never nervous about anything! The last time he had seen her this nervous was on their honeymoon night. Sonic smirked at the memory. Oh yeah, _definitely _good memories, "What is it? It's not like you to be nervous."

"D-d-d-do," Amy stammered out as her cheeks turned a charming shade of carnation, "Do you think…When I was younger…Did I c-chase after you desperately?"

Sonic blinked, truly taken off guard by the question. He thought this would be about Chaos, Shadow, or maybe even Achilles, "Uh…what?"

"Was I desperate when I chased you?" Amy blinked up at him, her eyes even rounder than usual.

Suddenly Sonic stiffened. Oh no, this was _one of those_ kind of questions! A catch twenty-two, where regardless of the answer, you were still screwed over. Sonic gulped as he thought of the last time Amy asked _one of those_ questions.

Amy had asked Sonic the infamous, 'Does this make my butt look big?' question. He thought he was playing it safe by answering no, but he was terribly wrong. By saying no he had doomed himself.

_'What!? Just what the heck are you insinuating!? Are you saying that I'm a figureless stick!? A string bean!?' _

Sonic sighed as he remembered that day. No matter how he answered he was screwed. And besides he didn't even know what that 'insinuating' word meant! The blue hero groaned, "…Does it really matter, like, right now? Chaos is trying to take over the world and Shadow will be trying to kill Achilles…I'm pretty sure."

"Well, I guess you're right," Amy sighed.

Surreptitiously Sonic smiled. On the inside he was doing the salsa; somehow he had managed to get himself out of that one!

Just as Sonic was about to ask his question, it was answered by the appearance of Flash the Hedgehog. Sonic blinked at the sight of his winded son, "Yo, what's up kiddo?"

Flash put his hands above his head as he tried to regain his breath, "Dad…mom…"

"Yeah?" Amy asked, blinking.

"Dad, mom, something terrible happened when you guys left," Flash's face fell, "We pursuedChaosbecauseSolwantedrevengeandMariaendedupbeing tossedoffacliffandSolisgone!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed putting his hands up to slow Flash down, "Slow down, I can't understand a single word you say!"

Flash sighed, "It's a complicated story."

Amy, who had been able to piece the few fragments of Flash's story together, was not at all happy about what she was hearing. All previous mirth on her face was drained; if anything she was pissed, "Then speak slowly and use small words."

Flash groaned; this is the thing he had been afraid of: telling his parents the whole story. And surprisingly he did spill. He retold their whole happenings with Chaos and each of his parents had different reactions.

With each passing second of the story, Amy seemed to be growing more and more furious as Sonic seemed completely levelheaded. Although his stance and face were completely calm, his eyes were austere.

"That was so unbelievably stupid!" Amy seethed as green flames danced within her eyes, "What was going through your heads!? You decided to take on Chaos!? By yourselves!? Boy, you kids must have shelved your brains today!"

"Okay, so this is pretty bad," Sonic said with a stern expression as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Sol's gone and Maria---Damn, we're going to have to really pick up our slack here."

"I'm sorry," Flash lowered his head, "I thought it was terrible idea, but…I have no idea why I went with it. I should have tried to stop the others when I had the chance…"

"Well whatever we do, we should not tell Shadow," Amy growled.

"…Not tell Shadow what?"

All three Hedgehogs shared the same deer-in-the-headlights look as they spun around to face…Shadow. For a split second Shadow looked amused as he caught something he shouldn't have, "…You know, with all three of you wearing the exact expression, I believe Flash looks more like Amy than you faker."

---

Maria's stomach gurgled again. She frowned as she heard Verve's laughter; well at least someone was being amused here. Here she was starving and that cute bratty kid was laughing at her expensive.

For breakfast Maria had to actually go out and gather food from the fields. It wasn't something Maria was used to doing, because where she came from, there was usually something in the fridge, or something in a cereal box.

The little echidna smiled, "You know, Paw-paw and Maw-maw have the best gardens! We supply the whoooooole village with our fruits and veggies!"

"Is that right? " Maria chuckled to herself as she watched the younger kid run a few feet ahead of her, "I bet ol' uncle Knuckles would think otherwise."

Maria stopped in her tracks once the old couple slowed to a stroll. Both of the elders turned to glance at her with a smile, "These are our crops."

The white-furred bat's face fell; this place was a wreck! All of the crops, or at least the ones left, were in the processing of browning and dying. There were only a few good crops left. A second ago, just _what _was Verve saying about 'the best crops'!?

She turned to the old couple sadly, "Your food…is this all you have?"

The old echidna's face fell as he nodded his head grimly, "Unfortunately, it is. Terrible droughts have been occurring as of recently. We are the town's only source of food. But there still are a few good crops that continue to grow. Now then if you excuse me, young Maria, I have much work to do: plowing, harvesting…"

Verve frowned, "Paw-paw's getting mighty old, maybe you could help him out? Maw-maw says I'm too young to help now. But next year I'll be big enough to!"

Maria smiled lightly, "Of course." She drifted over toward the old man who had a hand-weaved basket in his hand. He turned to look at Maria politely, "Yes, young Maria?"

"I would like to help you sir!" Maria chirped as she hiked a thumb to herself, "I have to pay you back for your hospitality."

Plato chuckled, "I couldn't young lady. What type of gentleman would I be to let a lady do this type of work?"

"I value your chivalry, but what type of guest would I be if I couldn't repay your kindness? Please let me help out…just this once? Besides, I like doing this kind of stuff, getting dirty and working out."

The old echidna glanced at his wife and grandson, searching their eyes before he turned back and smiled at the pretty girl, "Well sure, if you insist young Maria."

Smiling, Maria took the basket as the old man stepped back. He took his time and returned to his wife's side as his young grandson watched earnestly. Maria wiped the smile from her face as she elevated into the air and in a quick blur; she snatched up an entire row of produce effortlessly. Both Verve and his grandmother smiled in awe at her speed.

Never had they seen their crops harvested at such a speed! All they saw was the zoom of a white blur. As the old woman and young echidna boy chatted about Maria admirably, the old echidna narrowed his eyes.

In no time flat Maria had filled up all there baskets, and then some. This would be breakfast for at least a week. After seeing her impressive sped, Verve was impressed, jabbering a mile a minute saying how awed he was.

"You know," Verve carried a basket over his shoulder, "Paw-paw knows martial arts! He even won a couple of tournaments too! About sixteen!"

Maria blinked and looked over to the youngster, "Really?" For a moment an image of the old, rickety echidna passed before her eyes.

Somehow she couldn't see the feeble echidna performing something as strenuous as the martial arts. Maybe once upon a time he might have, when he was young and strong.

Then Maria remembered her first encounter with the old man. She recalled when she shook the old man's hand; his grip was incredibly strong. In the back of her mind she had logged that fact away safely.

But now that she thought about it, that grip_ was_ incredibly strong; no frail old goat could have a grip like that. Maria smirked as realization dawned upon her; she knew there was something about Gramps. _Knew_ it.

Behind all the gray he had accumulated over the years, unconsciously she observed the strength and fire in his eyes, she felt the power of his grip. Oh yeah, now she was sure Verve spoke the truth.

Gramps probably could kick someone's ass. Well, maybe twenty or thirty years ago, but the prowess was still there. Maria smiled and turned to look at Verve, "So tell me more about Gramps? Was he good when he was in his prime?"

"What's it mean to be in your prime?"

"You know, when he was young."

"Oh! Paw-paw was awesome! He used to work as a detective and he investigated important murders!"

"…You don't say?"

"Yeah! If you're nice enough, he just might show you some moves! When I turn seven, grandpa will begin to train me! He said that's the age the Guardians of the master Emerald began their training at!"

Just as Maw-maw took the produce to whip up something for breakfast, Paw-paw appeared. He gazed at Verve, "Verve, go help your grandmother prepare breakfast, I want to speak with Maria for a bit."

"Okay Paw-paw!" And with that, Verve scampered in after his grandmother.

The old echidna turned to glance at Maria, "Let us speak somewhere where young ears can't hear our conversations."

"Uh…su-sure."

Maria turned to follow Gramps, but not before giving an inaudible gulp; somehow she knew something bad was going to come out of this…

---

Okay so here's what happened: Shadow, somehow, was able to force the truth out of the Hedgehogs about Maria's whereabouts. Sonic kept his mouth shut and Flash was too smart to tell Shadow about Maria's whereabouts, but Shadow was able to weasel the truth out of Amy. Things went downhill from there.

They watched as Shadow went through a series of phases when he found out that his daughter could potentially be dead: first he went stark silent, then he looked as if he was about to cry, then he went into his most dangerous phase, rage.

He probably would have succeeded in taking out Flash if Sonic, joined by Knuckles, didn't quickly intervene and stop him. So now here they were, sitting outside in the bright sunny morning.

Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles were concerned, Shadow was on the brink of taking out any and everyone who even looked at him funny, and Flash was probably the most afraid off all. On top of that no one had slept well that night. No one.

"…I've figured out what we gotta go," Knuckles said quietly.

"What?" Amy's scratchy voice replied.

"We…have to get Meda's help," Knuckles sighed.

"…" Shadow just seethed silently; how could all this crap happen!? He turns his back for one sceond and then bam! This happens...

"What good would it do getting her help? Granny's just a cranky old lady!" Sonic growled.

"True. But she's a cranky old lady _who has enough Chaotic energy to help us combat Chaos_," Knuckles replied, "And she can also tell us if Maria's alive."

Amy blinked, "Really?"

"Yeah; we could use Shadow's energy and see if Maria's is still present. If she's still alive and okay."

This finally seemed to make Shadow stir, "…Then we must waste no more time here talking! Let's go!"

Without waiting for anyone else's opinion on the matter, Shadow sped away toward the Master Emerald shrine. Knuckles glimpsed at the two hedgehogs before he followed after his comrade.

Sonic sighed, "You guys stay here. If we going to try and convince Granny to help us, then…I'm probably going to use some _very _colorful language. You know how dam--darn stubborn she is."

And before Amy could protest being left behind, Sonic darted off after Knuckles. By traveling at the speed of sound, Shadow made a half hour journey within two minutes.

He only slowed once he reached the glorious ruin and caught the aquamarine eyes of Meda. The echidna chief looked slightly surprised to see the red-streaked hedgehog of all people, "?"

Seconds later both Knuckles and Sonic arrived behind their antisocial friend. Sonic glanced up, "Yo Meda, we need to talk to you for a bit."

"About what, idiot hedgehog?"

"Meda," Knuckles began as the three warriors ascended the stairs, "We…need your help against your fight with Chaos. As you know he's already taken a good chunk of the Emerald's power. Just how much more are you allowing him to have!? The guy's insane!"

"Granny, if you don't help us out we're screwed," Sonic exclaimed, waving his hands in the air, "Sol's been kidnapped by this whacko, Tikal's his prisoner, and we don't even know if Maria's even alive!"

Meda's turquoise eyes widened slightly, "…Son-son? He has taken son-son?"

"Yeah, please won't you help us!" the blue hero exclaimed.

The great echidna elder wound her fist tightly around her walking staff; Chaos kidnapped Sol? First he beat up her handsome great-grandson, mocked him, kidnapped her granddaughter, stolen a portion of the Master Emerald's power, and now this? Just how much further would he go with this insanity?

Meda opened her eyes until they were slits, "Did you not hear me first time? I said I no aid you! I never change words and lie!"

Sonic glared at her, "Did you not hear me? Your granddaughter is in the hands of a psychopath maniac! You are one of the strongest, if not the best warrior here! Your Chaotic energy is nearly as high as Shad's…and he's a freakin' immortal! So why shelf all this good power when your granddaughter and great-grandson are in trouble!?"

Meda stared at him coolly, "Not my fight. Tikal chose path, Tikal deal with chosen fate."

"Whatever! Fine, let her die, then see how many more guardians you'll be able to find in the future!" Sonic whirled on the toes of his sneaks and stormed down the stairwell with finality. Shadow glared apathetically at Meda, "…You're pathetic."

The echidna chief looked at Shadow, "Now normally quiet black-red hedgehog talk?"

"Yes, because I feel very inclined to do so." Shadow looked away from her, "I'm not going to go into an emotional bout like Sonic just did. You won't get the privilege to see that. But I do however agree with his feelings."

"About what?"

"You being a tight-ass and refusing to help save your own granddaughter because of your own foolish personal reasons," Shadow looked over to Knuckles, "How do you call someone 'haughty' in your language?"

Not missing a beat, "_Dandosa_."

Shadow turned to face Meda, "That's what you are. Refusing to help your granddaughter or anyone else for the matter because her son's plans don't fit yours. Pathetic. If her own family won't help her, then who will? I'm going to get my daughter back regardless of anything she's done. So stay here and enjoy the fact that she's suffering, at least it'll make you feel better in the end, I guess."

Meda stared at studiously, as he turned away, she called out to him, "Black-red hedgehog." Shadow spun to face her, "I will fight with you. Turrok is bad man, and I no let him hurt Tikal, Sol or your daughter. I fight beside you. And Maria is alive. I feel her."

The charcoal and claret antihero stared at her evenly, with a scoff he turned and followed Sonic and Knuckles. He didn't feel like saying anything else to the elder echidna guardian.

Although he didn't let it show on his face, he was relieved and comforted by her words. Shadow could feel normal again; his Rouge Maria lived!

---

Once again Maria found herself walking in the plantation fields, among the browning and dying produce. Maria swept her hands through a couple of the healthy, green crops.

"Young lady, I have a theory I've been meaning to run by you," Paw-paw's clear, sharp eyes narrowed slightly, "You don't mind do you?"

"No, I suppose not," Maria clenched her fists at her side; something was up, she was sure of it.

"So may I start my interrogation?"

Gulping down her anxiety, Rouge Maria nodded back firmly. The old echidna's expression went blank for a second before he smiled lightly at her, "…You have had nearly direct contact with the power of the Master Emerald, haven't you? As an echidna, I can sense it. The power of the great Master Emerald is still strong amongst you...Just as it was with your father."

Maria's eyes widened as she turned to gasp, "You know that…?"

Gramps watched her moments very closely, "That Shadow the Hedgehog is your father? Of course."

The white bat bit her lip anxiously as the echidna continued to delve into her secrets, "Your energy signal is just like his, perhaps a little weaker but it is still nearly identical."

The hybrid lowered her head slightly as she clenched her fists even tighter, "Just how in the hell did you figure all that out."

The elderly echidna continued, "You see, a long time ago before you were born and back when I was a detective, I was sent to investigate a disaster in the middle of Africa; at the Sahara desert."

With each passing second Maria's eyes grew wider, "His energy signature was so great, so terribly powerful that I knew I'd never forget it. And when you came around, that nearly identical energy signature smacked me in the face again."

The pallid bat glanced at her lap sullenly as the old detective continued, "So I figured you were related to him through blood. Yet in the beginning I had my doubts, seeing as you're a bat and he himself is a hedgehog. But I suppose that would make your mother a bat, no?"

"My dad…" Maria whispered, still refusing to meet the sharp eyes of the keen old echidna as she plucked at the hem of her long lacy skirt, "…You must think that he's a monster, that I'm a monster but hear me out. He may have struggled in his youth but he's good. Overall he's a good guy. He just has a terrible past that likes to rear its ugly head every now and then."

Plato was silent as he gauged Maria. With a sigh, she turned her back on the old man, "If…if you want me to leave, then I understand. When people find out who my dad is…they usually don't like hanging around me anymore."

"No," Maria's head shot up at that, "I do not want you to leave, Maria."

"Why?" she barely whispered.

"Because he did the honorable thing. Eighteen years ago, when your father went after the golden terror, your father chose to protect his friends and protect the honor of his wife."

Paw-paw had a stern look on his face as he continued, "In no way is he a coward or a fiend for doing so. I'd be damn if I let some monster threaten my livelihood, my wife and grandson."

Maria's face transitioned from being shocked to conforming into slight mirth, "Th-thank you Gramps…"

As he stood he nodded his head, "Do not thank me. Honor your father, for it is rare to see such honor these days…"

Gramps sighed as he turned to look at the green plant Maria was studying; this seemed to prompt him to speak, "I have another question for you, young lady."

Maria laughed dryly, "Heck, well why not? You've just totally seen right through me already. Go ahead, ask away."

"So then my assumption was correct?" He narrowed his eyes, going into detective mode again, "You have seen the Master Emerald with your own two eyes?"

"Yup, I was even there as my friend was being named as the new guardian!" Maria exclaimed happily.

This amused the old echidna, "You were?"

"Yep-aroni!"

"So are the stories true?" Plato asked genuinely intrigued, "Is the great guardian Knuckles valiant and strong enough to break boulders with his bare hands? And is the beauteous guardian Tikal as lovely as she is kind?"

Maria smiled, "I'd say the legends are correct."

Suddenly the old man's eyes darkened, "May I ask you one more question? What is wrong with the Master Emerald? What atrocities have fallen upon our sacred jewel?"

Maria blinked, "Wait, just how do you know about what's going on with the Master Emerald? This evil guy, Chaos, has stolen some of its power."

"Then this explains everything: our withering crops, the terrible weather, it is due to the Master Emerald. Whenever something is amiss, our little village suffers, because we too live with the power of the emerald," the old man pointed towards his field of crops, "We live by the strength of the Master Emerald, and because its missing its power…we suffer too."

The pallid bat gasped, "So when Chaos stole a fraction of the emerald's power, he did this!?"

"Correct," Paw-Paw nodded his head.

The white bat clenched his fists even tighter than before; so with Chaos absorbing the power of the Master Emerald, he was hurting the villages of this island. He was hurting the lifestyle of the inhabitants of Angel Heights.

"Young woman," the echidna said, bringing Maria out of her pensive state, "you are gifted with a great strength. One that is incomprehensible. You are also a very powerful warrior. At first I was skeptical, with your gentle appearance and all, but you are strong. I noticed your skill in even the most menial tasks you helped us with."

Purple eyes widened, "Y-you mean….?"

The lights touches of a smile formed on Gramps face, "Yes, I was testing you, young lady."

At the sound of his flattery, Maria's face went warm but then she frowned, "…No, that's not true. I tried to help stop Chaos before, but…I…I failed. I'm not strong enough to stop him. And all of the guardians of the Master Emerald were captured by him."

"That truly is terrible…" Paw-paw said as he closed his eyes in reflection.

"…Yeah, I know…"

Suddenly Verve tore out of there house and barreled straight for his grandfather and Maria, "Paw-paw! Paw-paw!" The red echidna stopped millimeters before he collided into the bat. Gramps blinked, "Verve, son what's wrong?"

"Paw-paw! It' the villagers! They're coming this way!"

Verve pointed northbound and both Maria and Plato followed. Approaching them a ways off where a group of echidnas. Each of the people were carrying some sort of menacing weapon: there were light torches, pitchforks, the works.

"What the hell is this!?" Maria exclaimed.

Gramps remained silent as he took in the approaching hostiles. Verve was jabbering away worriedly as he tugged on Maria's dress. The hybrid herself was staring on in confusion.

"Maria, watch over Verve."

"What?"

But Gramps took off without another word. He began strolling towards the approaching group. Maria blinked as she watched the scene jadedly; should she help or should she heed Plato's words.

_'I'm tired off not being able to help my friends! Hang on Gramps, you're not gonna face them alone!' _

Plato slowly approached the echidna mob until he stood before his plantation. The elderly echidna's keen eyes studied all the discontent faces in the crowd. He was astute enough to see that if he didn't handle this situation correctly, then there could be big problems.

"Why have you all come here?" he asked neutrally.

"Old man," the designated leader stepped forward and he too was a red echidna with nearly ebony eyes, he towered over the old man easily, "Where the hell is our food!?"

"You're our only source of food," an echidna behind him cried.

"We're all starving because of you!" another in the crowd exclaimed.

"We're going to die because of you!"

"As you all know, we are all going through a hard time," Gramps spoke calmly, as if none of them were threatening him, "These droughts have hurt us all, my family and I are doing all in our power to provide this fair town with nutrition."

"And yet we have little to eat!" the leader growled, waving his flaming torch near Plato, "I hope you know magic and make those crops grow, or we might have to hurt you. We've given you multiple notices before this."

"Well," Plato's face went into a severe mask, "Perhaps if you children channeled all this anger into productive energy, then we may get this village back on its feet."

"Are you saying all of this is our fault!?" the leader asked, his low voice slowly rising.

"As I said, this is a hard time for us all, since the Master Emerald's power is fluctuating, but become an adult and do not blame your problems on others," Plato finished, narrowing his eyes.

The rowdy crowd roared in disbelief and soon began to roar and jostle furiously. Soon the crowd engulfed Plato and started assaulting the old man. Verve gasped as he watched the mob devour his grandfather, "Paw-paw!!"

The boy took off toward the crowd, but Maria stopped him, "Verve! Stay here! I'll help Gramps."

And with that she opened her black and red wings and took to the air. From her overhead view she could see that Gramps was in the eye of the storm, surrounded by yelling, screaming, attacking echidnas. With resolve Maria bombed straight for the unruly crowd, '_Hang on Gramps, here I come!_'

In a blur, Maria managed to swoop upon Plato's attackers. The first echidna she took out with a spinning roundhouse. The next echidna she yanked off, then slammed her fist into his face brutally.

Once the crowd started getting wind of the newcomer they backed away slightly. With the torchlight, Maria's eyes were fierce; completely pitch black like tar.

"Piss OFF!" Maria stepped before them as her already fragile temper was set off and a fuchsia aura exploded around her, searing the sky brightly. The echidnas stepped backwards in a mixture of awe and terror. Little Verve gasped as he looked at his incandescent friend.

"You think you're enough for us? Just one girl to stand between us?" The leader of the crowd sneered. Maria's sneer darkened into a dark smile, a grin that only someone of Shadow's blood could muster, "Then bring it on mister!"

"No."

Maria spun to face the old echidna, he stared at her sternly as she gaped at him disbelievingly, "B-but Gramps! He needs it! He wants it! I have to give this guy an ass kicing!"

"What!?" That came from the loudmouth echidna leader.

The old man shook his head, "No young lady do not get involved," then he lowered his voice so only her two ears heard him, "for I know you'd win hands down."

Maria gasped, "B-but…" He chuckled, amused with Maria's obvious confusion, "I know, young woman. Remember about the power I spoke to you about? I also know that you too are a strong warrior, not only could I sense it but I saw it. Especially when you helped us out with chores."

She blanched again; damn it! Couldn't Gramps have found a better time to figure her out!? Sometime when the entire echidna village wasn't ready to torch their home!? "I see now why you're a detective Gramps, you're just too smart for your own good."

He smiled slightly, "Once upon a time I was, but the wits and skill doesn't leave."

"Just like the martial arts skills?"

The old echidna laughed, "Touché."

"Hey! You idiots better quit your chattering before we decide to burn your house down anyways."

Maria and Gramps turned to look at each other, "So what now, Gramps?"

"You watch over Verve, I'll take care of these fools. After I beat a couple, I believe they will be in their rightful place."

The hyrbid stared at the old man furiously, unsure weather to follow his plans and snag up his grandson or halt the old man himself. She heard Verve dash until he was right beside her. The cute, red echidna boy blinked his large, child-like eyes, "Maria! Paw-paw's gonna take on all those guys!"

Something about his paw-paw convinced Maria that he was going to be okay. Instead of approaching his foes with that hobbled, limp walk she had seen him peddling around with as of late, Gramps approached them with a stride as smooth and as audacious as that of any young man.

The second the echidna leader, Loudmouth, charged at him, Gramps fell back into a pose that Maria undoubtedly recognized as a defensive stance.

Loudmouth raced forward and swung the torch at the old man, but to both Maria's and Verve's delight, Gramps sidestepped the move and caught his arm. The old man twisted his arm and kneed him in the gut.

Maria's mouth dropped as Verve cheered, "Yeah Paw-paw! Go, go go!"

Two more challengers charged at the old man as he handled their ornery leader. Just when Maria was about to aid the old man and warn him about his new attackers, the old man gazed at them and pulled back into his stance again.

He dodged both of their blows fluidly and even ripped the shovel out of the hand of the first echidna. He whacked that same echidna on the foot with the shovel and finished him off with a blow to the stomach. The second echidna, who thought he had snuck up on the old man, was elbowed in the face and kicked in the stomach.

This time Verve cheered wildly, jumping up and down rapidly as Maria blinked, utterly impressed and surprised. '_Holy crap_!' Maria thought happily, '_Gramps is kickin' some ass_! _These guys are gonna go home and tell their mommies about this!!'_

Just as Maria was beginning to cheer the old man on, she suddenly paused. Something, something like intuition warned her that something wasn't right.

She spun around to see a group of echidnas sneaking up behind both her and the still oblivious Verve. Wait a minute, did Maria just sense them? She couldn't do that before…

The echidnas stopped, caught red-handed as Maria narrowed her eyes, "…And just what in the hell do you guys think you're doing? 'Cause if you think you can hold us hostage, you got another thing comin' to ya."

She knew that she could easily dispatch of these losers but she didn't want to steal Gramps' thunder either. So she did the easiest thing to scare the heck out of these people.

She brought forth her trademark fuchsia flare of energy and made the bright flames dance around her. The villagers instantly backed away, having seen nothing like that before in their lives.

"If you ever mess with these good people again, I'll do more than this. Chaos is making everyone's life a living hell, so wait until their crops start growing again and leave them alone!"

Surprisingly, the echidnas nodded their heads. Then Rouge Maria pointed, "Good…Now BEAT IT!" And almost comically, the people took off, glancing once or twice at the glowing bat. She was even happy to see Loudmouth looking like he was about to wet himself at the sight of her.

Should she be nice and let him scamper off with the others?

…

Nah.

Rouge Maria gave him the works. A bright, roaring purple aura around her body, glowing soulless eyes, a nasty evil smile; she pulled out all the stops on this fricker to make him think that she was possessed by some otherworldly demon. Using the chaotic energy within her, she hovered towards him, stopping only when she hovered right in front of his face.

"**_Ehehehe…You still wanna fight me, eh Loudmouth_**!?"

Loudmouth remained perfectly quiet, too terrified to find his squeaky voice. But Maria wasn't done milking it, nope, not by a long shot, "**Today you have caught me in a very fine mood. Now beat it!! Or I shall eat your…your…BRAINS! MUWHAHAHA!!" **

Loudmouth instantly took off as Maria continued her best impression of evil laughter. The second he was gone, she returned to normal and went over to Gramps and Verve, who looked highly amused with her antics.

She landed before them and rubbed her head sheepishly, "Uh…sorry about that. I guess I got carried with that." Verve giggled then smiled at her brightly, "That was so cool Maria! Could you do that again and make your eyes glow again! I wish I could do that! I bet I'd be able to scare Maw-maw like that!"

A heavy hand fell upon the youngster's head, "You will do no such thing to scare your grandmother. Young Maria used those abilities for good. Didn't you young lady?" Maria smiled, "Of course. Man! You were great! I didn't know you had it goin' on like_ that_, Gramps!!"

"It's best to defend what is worthwhile, don't you agree?"

"Of course Gramps."

"So do you think now that it's worth returning to face Chaos? Without the power of the Master Emerald, we still won't have any food on this island. And then, no amount of martial arts will be able to save our village then."

Maria's face became serious, "I was going to go back there and kick his ass anyways. But now that I met you guys, there's no way I'm gonna loose to that guy. You are depending upon me!"

Suddenly her face became joyful, " Thank you so much for everything. I promise, somehow, I'll help return all of the Master Emerald's power."

Gramps smiled, "I believe you."

The amethyst-eyed bat grinned, "Well, I should be off now…you guys take care, okay?"

"We shall; you want to reach Angel Island, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Then just head north," the old man pointed, "It's a long journey, but I think you'd be able to handle it."

Maria smiled and waved to them one last time, but before she left she ran and hugged Gramps and Verve. Then with one last big smile, she opened her expansive wings and took to the air.

"Bye Mariaaaaa!" Verve called, waving after her.

"Take care little man! And tell Maw-maw I said bye!" she called.

Maria took to the sky and found herself flying near the fluffy clouds. She smiled and glanced back at the small island of Angel Heights; the inhabitants now were nothing more than small dots, '_So long Verve, Gramps, Maw-maw! Chaos here I come!!' _

_'Wait a minute, I'm still wearing this dress! …Where are my other clothes!? Aw damn! I left them! Oh well…I guess I'll have to get 'em later.' _

---

Chaos entered the chambers where his one and only, darling Tikal was. He chuckled slightly as he saw her turn to face him. She sat under a ray of light that seemed to make her pretty features glow angelically.

His eyes glided over her petite frame hungrily before he smiled darkly at her, "_Honey, I'm home." _

And with that, he locked the door.

Today the princess was going to bend to his will.

And he was going to get something that he had been awaiting for…for a _long_ time…

* * *

-**To be continued!**

_Woo! That was 21 pages! 21 pages!! Okay, without further ado, Maria will answer the reviews. Go get em' Superstar! _

Maria: Awesome! Okay then, let's do it.

#17: Dude, you rock! Keep up all the awesome reviewing!

Mystery 001: Achilles? Achilles… who's he? Hmm, why does that name sound so familiar? But hey, I'm still alive! It'll take more than chucking me off a kill to take me out! Haha! (Puppy eyes) My dad's being a little girl!? My manly, testosterone driven dad? (sweat drop) I seriously need to find out who this Achilles guy is…he's a…psycho?

Shadowsole: Hi! How goes things? Oh I'm okay, don't worry! (eyes glow) Its Chaos would won't be okay!! (Happy again) Thanks for the review!

SexyShadowgirl: Wow, what a cool, awesome, long review! Haha! Man, I really do gonna find out who Achilles is! Everyone thinks he's crazy or something…So would I be wrong to guess he's a friend of our family or something? Hmm…I wonder if he knew mom…Ah well, thanks for the awesome review. (Winks) You. Are. Great!

Dmanb: Rock on my man, and don't worry, if Scythe does not have the slapping thing covered. I do. Thanks for the review!

Frostbyte64: Hey! …Huh? Again with Achilles? Does he know my mom, dad, uncle Sonic, Eggman!? JUST WHO IS HE!?!? Oh and by the way your music rocks! Thanksies for the review!

SangoBakura: Wahahaha! Uncle Scythe has a guitar named after him!? That's too cool! (Scythe: of course a guitar named after me would be hot! I mean…look at me. I'm sex reincarnated!! Muwhaha!) I wish I had a…Maria guitar…That sounds kinda lame doesn't it? But it would still be frickin' badass guitar! Guitar hero's cool and so are you, thanks for the review!

DusandDan: Haha, how about this?

Legendrulz: Hey! Awesome penname! Haha! This review is so awesome! And I absolutely agree! Dad needs to beat some ass! And as for Meda ( looks mad) Heh, she's such a stuffy old woman! Well, I hope this chapter was good for ya my man! Thanks for the awesome yet hilarious review!

Chococatgrrl: Heya! Thanks for the review and… (Eyes become big and shiny) I want my mommy to come back toooooooooo! (starts crying) T-thanks for the review!


	13. Turrok

**UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

A/N: …The last time I updated this sucker was Christmas eve…CHRISTMAS EVE!! I cannot say how sorry I am. I can only make it up to you awesome readers through this… (Price is right announcer voice) A BRAND NEW CHAPTER!!

-Dude, I was just looking over some of my old reviews and I'm so happy! I really made people cry, shred tears of sadness over Love's Burn. Hehe, I even got one guy to admit he 'shed a tear' Awesome!!

-But the question is…Will I do that to you guys again?

…

-The only way to find out is through reading! And sorry if there's massive errors. I tried to get this up as soon as possible

_--_

_Sonic wiped a fake tear away; his boy had built this thing. The cute, little fox he had raised built this tall, sexy building. Someday he'd hope Flash would maybe…hopefully build something this grand as well._

_"So sexy…" Sonic whispered, the awe never leaving him._

_"…Huh?" Flash slanted a questioning glance at his dad._

_"Oh nothing," Sonic grinned to himself._

--

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

Turrok: The Chief of the Echidna Clan of Topaz

It was…definitely odd bringing Achilles back to the Echidna household.

Sonic thought it wise to avoid Shadow at all costs. They warped right outside of their house were Amy, Cream, and Flash had been waiting. At first Amy's serious expression lighted at the sight of her husband, and just when she went out to greet him, she halted mid-step.

Right behind Sonic was the monster himself in all his golden glory. He stood, appearing even brighter in the sunlight and he was just as brilliant and terrible as she had remembered him to be. His glorious aurum fur, impossibly blue eyes; if someone told her this creature was a possessed, bloodthirsty being, Amy wouldn't have believed them.

But she had seen what that terrible creature had done. The bright fur, gorgeous eyes, and yet his hideous power, it made her think of a fallen angel. The second she set eyes upon him, it was like reliving all those dreadful, inane moments all over again. Seeing Achilles standing right before her made her feel very vulnerable--naked even--and ultimately rekindled her fear.

A cold, choking lump formed in Amy's throat as she tried to speak, weakly crawling at her voice. For just the slightest second, the brilliant eyes of the gold demon met hers. Although it was only a wrinkle in time, a quick wink, it left her weak in the knees and paralyzed with unspeakable fear.

Then it was gone, and Achilles was glaring off at something else. Amy blinked before she locked eyes with Sonic. Her mate seemed to be carefully studying her expression, seeing how she was coping with the rejuvenation of the gold demon.

Finally her voice returned, it was weak and raspy, but it came out, "Welcome home…"

Sonic plastered a forced smile on his face. The others may have bought it as real, but Amy, and probably Flash as well, saw through it, "Thanks Amy."

No intimate nickname, no nothing; this was getting under the skin of Sonic the Hedgehog too. Behind Sonic, Tails appeared, "We have to start working out a strategy quickly. With Meda here, then that means the Master Emerald is wide open for the taking."

As eyes turned to face the young echidna chief, Meda's focus was curiously fixed upon Achilles. For once her eyes weren't hard and cold like sapphire stone. Her eyes had an unfamiliar light held within them. She slowly sifted her attention to the others, "Then must start talk now. Longer wait, Chaos get strong."

The heroes started to file into the house slowly. As Achilles was starting to head for the house, Scythe slowly spun to face him with a full-blown glare upon his face. Daisy paused and glanced over her shoulder at her husband. She heard the low growl rip from his throat and watched the way his quills stuck up predatorily.

"Scythe?" she asked softly, caramel eyes round with question.

"He's not in on the meeting is he?"

Scythe's inquiry triggered a chain reaction as heads and bodies turned toward Achilles. Beside him, Sonic could hear a guttural snarl from Knuckles. With the fierce glare on Knuckles' face, Sonic got the idea that both he and Scythe were on the same wavelength.

"Not on my watch," Knuckles growled.

Tails frowned, arms crossed as Cream hovered beside him, "If we are going to strategize, everyone needs to be in on it…friend or not. As long as he fights under the same flag, he should be included."

"Really?" Scythe suddenly smiled all too pleasantly, "And is Shadow going to be there in that meeting?"

The fox winced at the mental image of Shadow and Achilles being in the same room. For some reason he got the idea of Shadow going super without any Chaos Emerald and flinging himself headstrong at Achilles, teeth bared and fingers sharp like talons.

And this was Shadow the Hedgehog he was thinking of, one of the level-headed, cool cumbers in their group. However there was no mistaking that once you stepped onto Shadow's wrong side and pissed him off, you chipped off the lock and the gates of Hell were unloosed.

"I see your point," Tails ground his teeth together, "Let's leave him out here like a misbehaved dog and continue our meeting."

The vulpine pushed passed everyone as he entered the house with Cream on his tail. Knuckles shrugged and entered along with Meda, who threw Achilles one last cursory glance. Sonic sighed before he ushered Amy and Flash indoors. Julie entered the house, not even sparing him a glance as Jake slowly strolled in, unusually smug.

That left the broken family circle of Scythe, Achilles, Daisy and Sunny. For a second Achilles glanced at the smaller yellow hedgehog, piecing together her features: the bright yellow fur and silver eyes. He could tell from her expression that she was inquisitive about him. Why, she was his niece.

"This is your daughter?" Achilles already knew the answer.

"Yes, she's…Sunshine Hedgehog," Daisy spoke slowly, "She's…your niece."

Sunny gawked at her mother incredulously before she glanced sharply at Achilles. Despite all the awkward tension he had faced recently, Achilles smiled, "…I can't believe Scythe had a girl. A cute little girl."

"I'm glad you think so," Scythe's pleasant expression shifted hellishly, "Because from now on, you're going to stay the hell away from my girl. If you're even within ten feet of her, I'll kick your ass."

Even the malevolent smile faded from his face as he settled with glaring. Daisy took a deep breath in as she faced her husband, "Scythe…could you watch over Achilles and miss out on the meeting?"

"What!?" he cut her a glare.

"You're the only one I feel safe with watching him."

Daisy watched silently as Scythe stewed angrily, cursing, kicking and yelling as he vented. His voice echoed through the air angrily as his treads even left deep imprints in the damp soil.

His wife just watched his complete theatrics with a face of utter and complete calm, as if she was waiting for him to finish. When he returned to her, teeth bared he growled, "What the HELL are you thinking!? I won't watch him! I won't! I won't!"

"Scythe," Daisy's voice was cool with a serene melody, "Will you watch him as we attend the meeting?"

For a second a staring contest between the two ensued: Scythe glared perceptibly, silver eyes hard like sleet as Daisy's eyes were perfectly relaxed and patient. Then Scythe blinked, appearing confused as the anger and fury slowly faded away. Then his expression settled somewhere near irritation. He cursed under his breath a bit more before he turned away from her, "…You owe me."

"Thank you Scythe," she smiled.

"Big time. Major. Frickin'. Big time."

"You're right, I do."

Daisy leaned toward his face, softly touched her lips to his cheek and gently whispered something in his ear. Achilles instantly snapped his head in their direction, eyebrow arched.

As Daisy pulled away, smiling, she watched just the slightest touch of Scythe's face go carnation. Sunny blinked, wishing she had been able to hear what was spoken. Daisy turned on her heel and slowly ushered her daughter into the house.

Scythe stared after her dead silent as he watched both his wife and daughter's figures disappear soon after.

"…How and where can I get in on some of that?"

With a roar Scythe spun to face a beaming Achilles, "Nowhere, and nowhere fast. I hope you do anything relatively suspicious. I'm looking, hoping you'll give me a reason to beat the crap outta you."

--

As the meeting continued, Achilles found himself relegated off to the side. As the others planned strategy within the living room of the Echidna's home, he was hidden away. Clear blues glared into nothingness.

Scythe allowed him to roam the island, knowing that the only inhabitants he could run into were Turrok, Turrok, and Turrok. Secretly, Achilles knew Scythe wouldn't find it such a terrible loss if Turrok destroyed his only golden-quilled brother.

The hours leaked by slowly, and painfully. He was pretty sure this was his second or third time circling the island. Achilles glanced around the plush, beautiful green garden vacuously.

A terrible oxymoron as cerulean eyes were both seeing and blind at the same time. He felt his feet drag and scrap across the earth, rooting up a couple of weeds along the way.

While the others may have remembered his for his fiendish, frantic past, they must have forgot that he was a sentiment being. His heart beat just like theirs did, blood flowed through his veins and it was possible to hurt his feelings. This part they must have forgotten because as often as he tried to ignore the unanimous glares and dark looks cast his direction, it still left him uneasy.

It felt like he had no allies, as if one miscalculated blunder would turn 'allies' against him in a bloodthirsty fury. So while he was supposed to be on the same side as the people in the other room, here he was, waiting outside of meeting quarters.

Achilles felt his vision slant and his teeth grate together; the more they treated him like this, the more it roused his ire. The gold demon roared out loud in frustration as his fingers crunched into his scalp. It seemed no matter how many times he apologized, it would never be good enough! Never!

'I'm so SICK of this crap. I would have rather they left me in that sleeping grave then awaken me for this!'

**'Agreed.'**

In the beginning, the second voice alarmed him, but after wandering around these parts for the longest time, Achilles had become familiar with it. This 'other voice' was the true Gold Demon, the real entity his allies feared. It was the bloodthirsty, bright-eyed hedgehog that used to control his psyche before Julie Robontik completed him.

Banished away as some sort of second conscious, the voice finally revealed itself to Achilles when he was alone. Gold Demon promised he had been there the moment he had been first awakened, he had just chosen to act now away from everyone else.

Achilles partially agreed; his allies already hated him to the core, he didn't also need them thinking he was crazy too.

'**Quit wandering around like a pansy and get back at those weaklings. Nearly two decades have gone by and they're still weak, or more pathetic that before. Each of them must pay for the unjust they did to us.' The voice scoffed, 'As if locking us away in a capsule would silence our thirst for power.'**

'Screw you, you're the reason they're treating me like this.'

**'Where is Shadow?'**

'Shut up. Leave me alone, screw you; which one of these statements will make you go away.'

**'Scared of him are you?**' Achilles could imagine a mirror image of himself, lip curled up in disgust, '**And those other flunkies of his. Let's give them a real reason to fear us. Teach them all a lesson for cutting their eyes at us. Start with that punk you think of as a brother. He needs the biggest attitude check, then that pathetic echidna.'**

'Dude, make like a basketball and bounce! Get the hell outta my head already.'

'**Your head**?' now he was sure Gold Demon was smiling, '**Technically I lived in this hot body first. I'M the original. So you can leave MY head. Honestly I can't stand you, but whatever. We need to get our revenge…although we should test our strength against the Chaos…'**

'This whole talking to a voice thing needs to stop. The others would think I've gone off the deep end. And stop this' we' stuff, its freaky.'

Achilles froze, halting mid-step as he felt an unfamiliar presence. He assumed Gold Demon must have noticed it too as it suddenly faded out; at least the psychotic voice knew when to shut up.

From the get go he knew it wasn't Scythe. For the many hours he had wandered around the earthen terrain, everytime he ran into Scythe, his brother had brazenly let him know.

Whether it was by standing blatantly in his path, or by brandishing his Chaotic energies hostilely, Scythe let his presence be known loud and clear. Achilles halted, spinning toward the direction of the newcomer. He was currently looking into a pitch-black cave.

"Show yourself," it was neither hostile or polite, but it was a demand.

The person must have been hesitant, but slowly a wicker of light appeared as a small, white hedgehog appeared through the sheet of darkness. The source of the light came from her left hand—which to Achilles' surprise—which had been morphed into a flashlight.

The little girl giggled before her hand returned into its rightful gloved appendage, "Heehee, I guess ya found me!"

Achilles stared at her in wordless disbelief. Was she not afraid of him or something? The hedgehog girl couldn't have been any older than ten years old, and she had round, clear blue eyes. She barely came to his torso and had a dimpled, wide smile that seemed permanently etched into her face.

"What are you doing here?" now he was just curious.

"The adults are coming up with plans," the little girl frowned, aimlessly dusting off her dress, "Mama won't let me listen to their talks."

Mama? Achilles didn't distinctly recall anyone in there who could remotely qualify as her mother. There was the rabbit, the pink hedgehog, and his sister in law. Daisy had introduced their cute daughter, and he really didn't see any relation between her and Pinkie.

The white hedgehog took a step forward into the sunlight and blinked up at him curiously. Her eyes slowly scrolled his tall frame until she met his expressionless face. When Ceres took a step forward, she thought she saw the gold guy wince. With her eyes wide and round like marbles, she ebbed closer, "Why aren't you in the meeting, mister? You're an adult and all the adults talk together."

He really didn't want to answer that one, so he spun the table around, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"Because," she rocked back on her heels, glancing up at him thoughtfully, "You're not scary. You know, for a boy you're pretty cute! And I hate boys because they have cooties. They all smell really badly!"

As Ceres giggled, Achilles found the edges of his mouth lifting upward. The child has good taste; he might actually grow to like this little one. He slowly squatted until he was nearly eyelevel with the little girl; sapphire blue clashed with cobalt, "And what's your name, Cupcake?"

"I'm Ceres!" she performed a courtesy and smiled larger, "I'm eight and three months old, my favorite color's baby blue, and I really, really like chocolate chip cookies, my mommy and ponies! What's your name?"

"Achilles," he smirked and since he was feeling charitable, he decided to humor her. As he bowed Ceres giggled and clapped her hands gleefully, "I guess I've technically been around for about nineteen years, red's not a bad color, and I like fire, and working hard to be the best."

To a certain extent Achilles found it paradoxical that the strongest warriors--a cybernetic hedgehog, the guardian of the Master Emerald, and the world's fastest supersonic hedgehog--all feared him, and yet this little, bubble-eyed girl stood within a foot of him with nothing but a sweet smile on her face.

"You know," Achilles absently allowed a hand to gently run through her quills, they were soft, docile compared to his own, "You should really get back to your mother. She probably wouldn't like you anywhere near me."

"Why?" Ceres frowned.

"...If I tell you, will you keep it a secret?"

Achilles watched the light appear within her eyes. The idea of keeping a secret was exciting, she never kept a secret for a boy! Ceres jubilantly nodded her head, "Cross my heart!"

" You see…I'm dangerous, Cupcake," his eyes faded into a color near black, his expression becoming serious, "I've done a lot of bad things, and there's no repentance for me. There's no light at the end of the tunnel for me, no retribution. All this animosity, all this scorn I'm receiving, its judgment for what I've done in my past life. I just have to know…that no matter what I try to do, I can never be pure, because once you shed blood, it always stains your soul. You can never wash blood away…"

"Huh?"

Achilles blinked before he laughed, remembering he was speaking to an eight-year old girl who dreamt about cookies and ponies, "My big, fat secret is that I've done something bad."

Ceres frowned, processing his words in her childish brain. Achilles knew the moment she found an answer because he saw the light appear within her eyes, "Oh, that's not too bad. I try my best not to get in trouble, but sometimes I do too."

"Yeah?" Achilles laughed, "And how do you get in trouble?"

Ceres blushed, "I…um…I …um…this one time, when we were supposed to go to a dinner party, I ate cookies and split milk all over my fancy dress. Mama was mad!"

Achilles laughed, genuinely tickled by her innocence, "Oh, that's not even that bad. I've done way worse."

"It's okay," Ceres smiled, "Mama told me that it doesn't matter what you did, as long as you're really, really sorry you can be forgiven."

The gold hedgehog glanced at her, eyes bright and unsure, "You…really think that?"

"Yeah! Of course!" Ceres eagerly nodded her head, "No matter what owie you may have given someone, just say sorry and they'll forgive you."

Ceres blinked as Achilles slowly rose to his full height. She wondered what he was thinking as he stared at her, eyes half-lidded and face somber. Ceres frowned, tilting her head to the side. Why, her new friend looked sad! And Ceres didn't like it when her friends were sad!

"Achilles? What's wrong? Please tell me so I can make it better," Ceres looked like she wanted to cry.

"I'm perfectly fine, Cupcake," Achilles managed to spread a smile on his face, "Let's get you back to mama, huh?"

The drab expression faded as Ceres smiled again. She took Achilles' hand and tried to march away with him, "Yeah! Come on, I wanna bring you to meet mama."

That statement roughly caused him to stick both heels into the ground. He could imagine the chaos it would bring if everyone knew Cupcake had been talking to the evil, father-slaying, mother-hating, demon-hearted Achilles all by herself.

"Hey, Cupcake, how about you call me by a nickname?" Achilles smiled at the thoughtful ponder on Ceres' face, "As new friends, we have to give each other nicknames, right?"

The idea only further pleased Ceres, "Okay, um..what's my nickname?"

"I've been calling you Cupcake this whole time."

"But I wanna be an angel," Ceres pouted absently curling her hands around her dress, "I wanna be…Princess...Angel…Cupcake!"

If possible, Achilles' brow would have rose right off of his forehead, "Princess Angel Cupcake?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, but how about I call you…Cupcake for short?"

"Okay!"

Achilles tried not to laugh, as Ceres glanced at him thoughtfully, "I wanna call you, Light-Shine! Your fur reminds me of light and it's really bright! Plus it's yellow like sunshine!"

The gold hedgehog found himself frowning at such a lame, un-masculine nickname. Call him Beast, Gold Thunder, anything but that wimpy, Light-Shine crapola, "Light-Shine? At least I gave you a good nickname."

"You're Light-Shine," Ceres grinned, "Come on Light-Shine, I wanna introduce you to mama."

"But Princess Angel Cupcake," Achilles swore he heard Gold Demon laughing at him, "Remember, our friendship is a secret. I'll play with you as long as I don't have to meet your mama."

"Why?" Ceres looked hurt.

"Because," Achilles gave her a devilish smile, "It's a secret, okay. You can tell them about me all you want, but we can't let them know we're friends, okay? It'll be….cooler that way, don't you think."

"Oh okay!" Ceres was beaming, "Bye, Light-Shine!"

The little girl waved before she scampered off toward the Echidna household. As Achilles waved her off, a new presence appeared, glaringly obvious, "What was that?"

Achilles turned to glance at one of the trees behind him. Standing on one of the limbs with his arms crossed was none other than Scythe. In the shade his silver irises were veiled, giving his eyes a completely white, soulless edge. Achilles couldn't tell, but he figured big bro was looking straight at him.

"How long were you there for?" Achilles turned back to glance into the horizon.

"Long enough, "his prototype grunted, "What? Trying to befriend little girls now? If you become friends with her, she won't suspect the moment when you snap her neck, right? The lamb never does know the moment when the wolf sinks its fangs into its hide."

"Ease off Scythe," Achilles shot him a stern glance, "Testing the wolf's patience isn't wise. While the beast may be patient, it too is an animal. It still knows the taste of a fresh kill. You'll do well to remember that."

The two siblings glared at each other in a moment of bated, terse silence. The being of aurum with his golden fur and bright, Zeus-like features clashed against the dark, cool color scheme of his brother, who embellished Hades. One instant the brothers were staring at each other, deadlocked, then the next Scythe was bounding away through the trees and Achilles fled elsewhere, journeying further into the island.

"Hey mama!" Ceres grinned as she appraoched Julie Robotnik.

"What is it, Ceres?"

"I have a new friend!! And he's a boy!"

"Oh, well what's his name?" Julie grinned.

"Light-shine!"

"Oh that's nice dearie."

And Light-shine's true identity was safe just like that.

--

"Do it again, but this time not like a pathetic fool."

Chaos stood in the middle of his resurrected castle, watching his apprentice sweat. They were in the middle of what looked to be a stony, well-embellished jade and porcelain throne room.

Sol grimaced as cold sweat dripped down his chin and stuck to his skin uncomfortably. With another grunt, he pulled upright, completing another devastating push-up.

Turrok had forced him to complete his set of brutal push-ups on his knuckles, which were now red, raw and bloody. Sol clenched his jaw as he tried his best to stomach the furious pain in his throbbing knuckles. He was so immersed in his world of pain that he didn't notice when Turrok walked before him.

"You have three more push-ups to complete," Turrok's amber eyes locked unto Sol as he meticulously circled him, "You know what shall happen if you fail…."

Sol winced and squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the pain from his black eye, and the pain from the laceration in his side. The bruises along his back protested every time his muscles went taut. The guardian coughed, ignoring the coppery taste of his own blood. Every time he had failed a drill or a training regiment, Chaos punished him. And brutally.

He could feel the muscles in his arms shaking, rattling as if they were going to give out on him within the second. But he couldn't this time, Chaos' punishment wouldn't reach his flesh, it wouldn't be for him. Sol forced his protesting, furious muscles down as he performed another quaky push-up.

"Two more…" Turrok bore a smile, "But if you fall…or concede…"

The tyrant took a knee so his face was millimeters from Sol's, "If you fail Pathetic one…"

Turrok leaned forward, and his breath tickled Sol's ears, "If you fail…then I will march out of here, and take your beautiful mother. She will learn how much I differ from your peasant father, and much more of a _man _I am. She will learn to yearn for my strong flesh."

His jiggling, shaking limbs were steeled, as if they had been metal in place of tendons and muscle and Sol roared as he pumped out his last two push-ups. With a sigh, he fell onto his back, staring tiredly at the beautiful carved patterns in the ceiling.

Chaos stood over him frowning, "…If I knew I was going to get results out of a pathetic fool like you, I would have threatened your mother sooner."

"You…can…" Sol gulped, a mixture of saliva and air scathing his parched throat, "…beat me…all you like…never…bother… leave…my mother alone…"

"Oh, but Pathetic one," Chaos turned to grin at his hellishly, eyes gold and bright with insanity, "You think you've prevented me all together? Do you not see? She is a small conquest that will come along. Once I acquire the complete power of the Master Emerald, all sentimental life shall bow before me."

"…Crazy…" Sol huffed, his heart beating crazily against his sternum.

"Insane do you think?" Chaos glided over toward him, "You have no idea…"

The ocher-furred echidna took a knee before he jerked Sol upright so that they were eye level. Chaos grinned, staring into the icy depths of Sol's blue-green eyes. Tikal's blue-green eyes, "Pathetic one, before your time, and even before the time when I was betrothed to your mother, there was a legend. I would tell you the entire story, but I fear you do not have the mental capabilities to comprehend such words. I shall paraphrase it for you."

"In the year 980, there was a great war between the tribe of Emerald and the tribe of Ruby. Skylark Echidna, Meda's grandfather, was the chief of the Echidna Clan of Emerald. He was rumored to be one of the best guardians: stern, fair, and powerful. He was called Skylark because supposedly he had these blue-green eyes that could see all.

"In the great war of 980, the Echidna Clan of Emerald was outnumbered, outmatched by the Ruby Clan. The warriors of the Echidna Clan of Ruby were bloodthirsty, vicious warriors; they were some of the biggest, strongest men. They had plundered many villages and turned many Clans asunder.

"Then the war-thirsty people of the Ruby Clan set their sights upon the luscious, beautiful land of Angel Island. And why wouldn't the Ruby Clan want Angel Island for themselves? The land was beautiful and green, it was right near the water, and the women of the Emerald Clan were beautiful and shapely. The Ruby Clan openly and brashly declared war upon Skylark and his people."

"…What happened?" Sol asked, interest growing in the anecdote every second.

"Skylark and his council had to find a way to defeat the giants of the Ruby Clan, these men were rumored to have the height and strength of bears. The girth of their muscles was ridiculous as their bodies were nothing but pure, solid perfection.

"Skylark knew the limits of his warriors and he knew they could not defeat them in hand-to-hand combat, and he knew the warriors of the Ruby Clan wouldn't stop until they conquered all. No diplomacy would work, no peace treaty would satisfy these bloodthirsty warriors. The Ruby warriors were going headhunting."

"It was the dawn before the war was to begin and all were embedded in panic, the Echidna of the Emerald Clan knew that if they faced the Ruby warriors, they were as good as dead."

Sol licked his lips, as he slowly moved his eyes away from Chaos. The ocher echidna continued, eyes phasing beyond Sol, "That dawn, the warriors of the Emerald Clan kissed their wives and children good bye, fearing the worst of combat. How were they supposed to beat men who had the strength of bears? And the ferocity of lions?

"That morning women and young children hid in the dense forests. Their normally bustling, lively city was nothing more than an eerie ghost land. The two Clans were destined to meet at dawn and at the first crack of daybreak, Skylark hadn't shown up to lead his men."

Sol glanced at him sharply, "What kind of chief is that? To leave his men to die on the battle field without order or direction?!"

Chaos chuckled, "Just as the Ruby Clan warriors appeared, ready to attack, Skylark appeared. Fresh war paint was dawned upon his face, his stride was confident, face stern as always, and he carried several large stones in his hands. He turned to his men and told them to return to their families; he would take care of them all."

"Did they…leave him?" Sol asked, voice soft.

"No, at first they were outraged that their chief would dare ask them to abandon him, " Chaos chuckled, "But then Skylark dropped these stones and for the first time they had seen. He had smiled. It wasn't much, but Skylark Echidna was a severe, serious chief who never smiled. The second he smiled, something magical happened.

"The great chief stepped into the ring he placed the seven stones in and soon a bright light broke forth and a new entity appeared. No longer was Skylark there, but someone else. Someone strong and powerful with gold fur, red eyes, and an insurmountable power. Skylark was the first being to harness the power of the seven Chaos emeralds.

"Through the efforts of one man, Skylark had wiped out the entire Ruby battalion. The Ruby Clan had stood no chance against the great chief. All their weapons, stones and spears, even fire couldn't harm him. The Ruby Clan met their miserable ends that day.

"After he dealt with the Ruby Clan, he returned to his people, praised for his valor and strength. The warriors were speaking about how they'd throw celebration after celebration in his honor. The women promised to name their sons after him for multiple generations.

"But do not smile yet, this tale is not for the weak-hearted. Remember, back in that time no one knew the Chaos emeralds could have been used in such a manner, Skylark included. He had used the Chaos Emeralds without a thought of the consequences. He was ignorant about them. And his people were soon to learn a harsh learn about its workings.

"What he didn't know about the Chaos Emeralds was that they had one major drawback: you had to stop using it before it drained your life right out of you. Skylark's transformation was the first time a person had even gone perfect, golden. When he destroyed those soldiers, he surpassed his body's limit and probably burnt himself out to the core."

Sol winced, "So…does that mean…?"

"Yes, the second Skylark returned to his people, he collapsed, never to rise again."

The red-furred guardian fell quiet. If Skylark was his great grandmother's grandfather, then that made him is great, great, great...great grandfather? He didn't know whether to add or subtract another great somewhere. It didn't matter, regardless of however many 'greats' he added, it felt good to know that the blood of such a magnificent man ran through his veins.

"So…" Sol said quietly, "Who was the first person to use the Master Emerald?"

"Why I believe that would be your great grandmother," Chaos smirked, "Meda was the first--and only female chief of the Emerald Clan in 1028. She took over at the age of fifteen after her father—Chief Rokk—died prematurely from exhausting himself by using the Chaos Emeralds. As the new heir, Meda only had a week to mourn her father's death and then the next sunrise, she would take the throne as the clan's new sovereign."

Sol was silent. Trying to picture his grandmother as a young, bright-eyed girl was hard. It must have been stressful for Meda; mourning over the loss of her father, and then having to lead the clan. Sol frowned; what if he, as a fifteen year old boy had to head a clan? It would have been nerve-wrecking.

He could image everyone waiting, watching for him to make a blunder. To smile behind their hands and titter at his amateurish mistakes. Was this what his grandmother, what Meda had to go through as a girl? Then this must have really explained why she was she so callous, icy eyes unfeeling even in the light of passion.

"As a ruler Meda was nothing more than a young girl and inexperienced. Reading legislative scrolls were her new pastime and she breathed in the diplomacy her council members instilled in her. She soon learned that there was much more work to being chief, the head of the clan.

"Chiefs were powerful and always well decorated, so Meda couldn't be seen in anything less than a tiara, fine clothing and jewels. And a monarch was always beautiful and serene, and Meda learned that she couldn't let her true emotions show forth. She had to always appear calm, even in the constant face of mockery and strife.

"The Clan of the Emerald began to turn against her, muttering that neither a child, nor a woman could head a clan. The first year as the new chief was the worst for her: every issue she ordered to her soldiers was met with resistance, her council half-listened to her ideas, and locals candidly mocked her ideals.

"At daytime, the new queen was stern-faced and beautiful, lashing out at anyone who explicitly opposed her. In her first year, there were many public executions held; many people had tried to assassinate the young queen.

"During each execution, Meda watched her attackers' deaths occur one after another with a stern, resolved face. In her fist year as queen, they had held five hundred and ninety three executions. Each one was for an assassination attempt against the queen.

Sol let out a low whistle. In Meda's first year alone, she had five hundred and ninety three attempts at being killed? Regardless of the first ten, twenty, or hundreds of previous executions held, her very own people still tried to murder her!?

There were only three hundred and sixty five days in a year. So that almost average out to, two murder attempts per day! How did Meda manage to keep her head on straight knowing that!?

"However at night when the gold, jewels and tiara was removed, the queen was nothing more than a small, fifteen year girl who cried herself to sleep, calling out to a father who was long dead. Night was always the scariest moment for the young queen, it was the time when she was all alone and it was the time when most of her assassinations attempts occurred.

"Meda never knew if her soldiers would protect her, after all they too were skeptical, doubting that a female could properly run their clan. She truly was alone, until one day she befriended one of the most powerful beings on Angel Island. The Master Emerald.

Sol glanced up, locking eyes with Chaos, "How?"

"Meda had learned that the Master Emerald was a living creature. Every time she told it about her woes, she noticed the stone would respond. Unlike her predecessors, Meda learned how to communicate and befriend the Master Emerald. As a token of the great stone's trust and friendship, it lent her some of its power.

"With its extra strength, Meda was impervious. The power of the Master Emerald had given her immortality, and it even gave her the ability to see premonitions. With the Master Emerald's new power, no one dared to oppose the young queen any longer.

Sol couldn't help but smirk at that. Serves those bastards right for treating her the way they did. All ganging up on a little girl like that.

"You see, with the new power, she was able to take down the greatest of warriors with little effort. Soon the people's distaste for the new queen transformed into fear, but when they realized Meda used her power to make the best decisions for her people, the clan began to respect her. And with little time, the people began to adore her, pledging the ultimate allegiance to their queen.

"Every year Meda sat on the throne as chief, the Emerald Clan's people grew richer and more prosperous and the Master Emerald continued to make the lands of Angel Island futile and the great stone kept the waters cool and sweet.

"All battles and opposition that came toward the people of the Emerald Clan, Meda foresaw it and knew how to defeat foes before they even stepped foot on Angel Island soil. The power of the Master Emerald gave her immortality; so after centuries of out-living her people, Meda grew tired of being unnaturally young and beautiful as her friends and cohorts grew gray and passed on. She was ready to pass the guardianship down to an heir.

"It took that old crab awhile, but eventually she found an interest in one of her top royal guards, Kagan—had to be a drunken fool to want to live with her—whom wedded her. Meda gave up the power of the Master Emerald the second her son, Pachamac, had passed his guardian trial and as the new guardian, he married and eventually he sired Tikal."

"W-what year was she b-born?" Sol really didn't want to know.

"The year 1506, give or take a few years," Chaos grinned, knowing exactly what Sol was thinking.

Sol gulped; for some reason it still unnerved him a bit that his mother had been around about nearly five centuries ago. What if she had gotten married back then? What if she had been like everyone else back then and died sometime, forty or fifty years ago? Like in 1559 or so? People didn't live long back then, so what if that had been her story?

What if Tikal had married who she was supposed to, had a few kids, grew old and died. Would Sol have still been borne to her? Would he have lived his forty to fifty years and died near the seventeenth century? How about his dad?

'No,' Sol thought to himself, '_Dad wouldn't have been alive back then, because he was born about five hundred years later…'_

Chaos chuckled, "If it wasn't for me, Pathetic one, you wouldn't have been born."

Sol cut a glare at him, "What did you say!?"

"In the year 1525, a terrible force struck the Emerald Clan. Meda had given up her immortality back then, so she was too old to do anything, and her granddaughter, Tikal was a mere trainee, not a full-fledged guardian yet. The timing of the attack was perfect. The Clan of the Topaz hit the strongest clan in one of their worst moments of weakness."

Sol had known that his people had been wiped out, but hearing the story, hearing his history only made the pain more tangible, more real, "…Why?"

"Because the Echidna Clan of the Emerald made one, vital mistake," Chaos grinned, "They believed only their clan, their people knew the secrets about their precious Master Emerald. What they didn't know was that anyone could use the stone's power as long as they were strong enough to.

"A powerful outside came and efficiently _and_ rather quickly wiped out ninety five percent of the Emerald Clan."

Sol felt his fists clench painfully and he heard a low growl carry from his throat. It had been one single, mangy outsider who had wiped out his people, who then faded out of existence after that. It was too much to bear.

"Who…" Sol felt his jaw clench, "What was…the name of that…damn warrior?"

"His name?" Chaos slowly grinned, "Why, he was none other than Turrok, chief of the lustrous, powerful Echidna Clan of Topaz. For centuries my grandfathers were waiting for the chance to overthrow the Echidna Clan of Emerald.

"We had meticulously waited for the right moment to strike, but there was never a moment opportune enough: In the time of chief Skylark's reign, the Ruby Clan wiped out a good majority of our warriors, tore down our buildings and homes, leaving us poor and homeless. But the fiendish Ruby Clan destroyed our lifeline, the Master Topaz.

"How my people survived those times, I cannot say; in lieu of the Master Topaz' destruction, our green island slowly transformed into dessert grounds, crops wouldn't grow, and the weather was hellacious. Even as a boy, even as the son of the chief my stomach was never full.

"But then, word of our deplorable living conditions caught wind and the kind monarch of the Emerald clan invited us. My father and I journey to Angel Island and we were shocked with how beautiful it was. Even the people themselves were models of perfection; clean and well-fed and their women were full and shapely.

"Their children ran around happily and played games with each other. The children of the Topaz starved, and they didn't have enough energy to play such games. When we traveled to the ruler's throne, my father and I were terribly shocked to see a woman upon the throne.

"And she was beautiful: creamy, tan fur, aquiline eyes, and swathed in nothing but the loveliest pure white and green robes like a goddess. Her husband wasn't of royal blood, so he could not inhabit the throne as his wife did. But from first sight we knew Kagan was a warrior; he stood beside her throne, posture perfect and with a strong face.

"The ruler introduced herself as Meda, daughter of Rokk and chief of the Echidna Clan of Emerald. She told us she had heard about the troubles our people went through, but she made it very clear that she did not pity us.

"She told us pity was for the weak and that giving it would have hurt our pride as a people. She told my father of how we shared a common enemy: the Ruby Clan and she was willing to help us get back on our feet as long as he made an alliance with her people.

"My father agreed hastily, and we made a pact. We would have peace and I was to betroth one of her children. That was our pact. Its true that she gave my people supplies, food and timber to rebuild our lives with, but she broke her word."

Chaos narrowed his eyes, "What my father and I didn't realize was that that filthy queen was a liar. She only bore a son, who at the time was my age. I never had my promised bride, and eventually my people started going into recession. If I had married her child, then my people would be rich too.

"By my eighteenth year, Pachamac had a daughter. Even eighteen years her senior, it was the best thing I was going to get, and even as an infant, by her sixteenth birthday we'd be wed."

Sol choked, clearly not liking the idea that a.) Chaos would wed his mother, b.) someone eighteen years older would marry his mother and c.) that Chaos would have to 'wait' for his wife to grow-up and become a woman. And that woman was his mother.

"Every year I visited their beautiful village, and each year I played and took care of Tikal. As the years went by she slowly grew from infancy to childhood where we played many games together. She was quite tomboyish back then and we often dueled with branches in places of swords. The councilmen would have been furious to know the princess was performing such boyish tasks."

Turrok chuckled as if he was reliving the memory now, "The next year was the worst I regret. It was when Tikal reached her eleventh year and met a peasant boy named Valor. They had become 'friends' and there was no affection between them."

Suddenly Turrok's golden eyes darkened as his teeth were bared, "But then as the years went by, Tikal grew into a beautiful flower. Many men pined for her, but I was pleased, knowing that she was my bride. However by her fifteenth year she told me that she loved another…that she had chosen that peasant over me.

"After all those years of waiting I would not have it! I took revenge in the only way I could, and I wiped out that miserable race. Men, women, children, I wiped them out. They could not live in a world where they thrived and my people starved, they would not live in a world where my bride married that peasant. _And no one would exist in a world were a damn peasant took the throne as king!"_

Something within Sol's reason snapped and he roared, and even with his battered and bruised body, he leapt at Chaos. The ocher echidna grabbed Sol and tossed him to the ground, restraining him with no problem at all, "Truly, is this how you thank someone for being the cause of your birth?"

"_You sick, twisted monster_!" Sol roared, his ancient echidna strong as the pride of his lost clan blooded him, "_My father and mother met, fell in love and made me! You had NOTHING to do with that!!"_

"On the contrary, Pathetic one," Chaos grinned, "You see, if I hadn't had indeed attacked in the year 1525 and nearly usurp the royal Echidna throne, your mother and I would have been betrothed, had a couple of children, and we'd be long gone by now.

"But because of my battle, Tikal had to seal me away into the Master Emerald, and as a result, the Master sealed her away too. As the last guardian, it was her duty to find the next in line…even if it meant waiting five centuries to do so."

Chaos finally sounded displeased, "…She waited and waited until she met that Peasant and deemed him worthy of being the next guardian. It is such a shame that the clean, pure blood of royals had to mix with the muddy blood of peasants."

With a chuckle, Chaos flickered one of Sol's long quills, "But that's fine now. I have all eternity to make suitable heirs with your mother. She will be my queen, as it should have been years ago!"

A roar ripped through Sol's throat as he struggled, eyes narrowed as he clawed, kicked and did everything he could to take down Chaos. The tyrant was surprised when Sol managed to buck him off and end him across the floor.

The animalistic cry continued as Sol charged at Chaos, fist drawn back and vision red. This was now beyond the pain he had caused his family, this was for what he did to his kin, to his dead clan. The people Skylark and Meda fought to protect were dead because of this terrible man. Sol thought he should complete the revolution and finish Chaos.

As Sol swung a fist, Turrok caught it, actually genuinely surprised at Sol's new strength. He watched silently as blue fire danced within the youth's eyes. Aquamarine flames swirled, danced and gyrated hungrily within his eyes.

It was then Chaos realized how he had stripped the boy of so much: pride, confidence, companionship, why he had even taken away the Echidna Clan of the Emerald--Sol's extinguished people. Their graves were permanent, and their souls would ever dance upon the earth again.

He had also stripped Sol of his innocence, and changed him from a shy, thoughtful teenager, into a bloodthirsty, destitute orphan. Turrok had changed Sol into an orphan, a boy who could not rely on the guidance, the support of his parents. Sol would have to learn how to stand or fall by his own two feet.

"If you wish to fight me now, I will not hold back," Turrok replied, the joviality leaving his voice, "Today, I shall fight you for real."

Sol's fury dampened, snuffed out quickly. He glared at the ocher echidna suspiciously, "I don't want to fight you. I want to kill you."

"Yes, and today I shall honor your request," Turrok released Sol and stepped away from him, "Today I shall face against you again. If you can defeat me, you may resume your reign as the guardian of the Master Emerald."

Resume his reign? As in he could become the guardian and this entire nightmare would finally end!? Sol felt his heart pulsing crazily, excited at the prospect of being able to return back to his parents and show them that their son was not a failure.

He could hold his held up high as he met his great grandmother's gaze, and ensure her that the blood of the strong still veined through the greatest descendant of the Echidna of the Emerald Clan.

But as Sol figured, this had to be one nasty double-edged sword; a catch twenty-two. At what price would he have to sacrifice earning a second shot at his guardianship?

Sol wetted his dry lips and focused on Turrok. For a change the dictator did not have a snide, or condescending sneer upon his face. He was completely neutral, a face carved right out of stone. The red-furred echidna spoke, "While I may be young, I'm definitely not an idiot. What's the ploy behind this?"

"If you cannot defeat me," Chaos narrowed his golden eyes at his own statement, "Then you will submit to my complete will. Agreed?"

Sol growled deep in the back of his throat, not really liking the sound of that one. But beggars can't be choosers, right? If he was going to reinstate himself as the guardian of the Master Emerald, then he would have to be willing to make a sacrifice…

The way Skylark gave his life against the Ruby Clan…

The way his great grandmother gave up her childhood and innocence to become a powerful chief…

The way his mother sacrificed her mortality, and sealed both herself and Chaos away into the Master Emerald's core…

Sol glowered; it was about high time he made his sacrifice. He glanced at Chaos once more and resolutely nodded his head, "I approve."

"Then come." Chaos strolled passed Sol and picked up a porcelain tea cup.

He crushed the fragile, cream-colored pottery within his fist. The second Turrok opened his palm, Sol saw a small sliver of blood. Turrok gracefully crossed the room in less than five strides to stand before Sol again. The crimson youth scowled as Chaos littered the broken china into an awaiting palm.

"My tribe was the Echidna Clan of the Topaz," Chaos spoke, gold eyes focused upon the boy, "When two men make a promise, they seal their pact with a blood seal. Your people participated in such a ritual as well. I will take your word as valid when our bloods mix."

Sol glanced at the crushed, jagged chips within his palms. He carefully raised one of the larger shards and nicked his hand. A small, crimson swell rose as blood began to flow from his new wound. Sol glanced up at Chaos, who then stuck his hand out.

There was no turning back now, and it was time for Sol's sacrifice.

…_Sacrifice_

_For my mother…_

_For my father…_

_For the Echidna Clan of the Emerald…_

_…_

_And for Rouge Maria…_

With nothing else to do, Sol grabbed Chaos' hand and shook it.

Their bloods mixed and their pact was sealed.

--

Our group of heroes had, with the teleportation of Chaos Control made it to Tail's high-tech Workshop. Over the years the small, handy-dandy garage was transformed into a state of the art trailing facility. Sonic and Flash had come many a time to train, keeping themselves in tip-top performance shape.

Tails watched with a rather unusually smug smirk on his face as he studied the eyes of his many admirers. Even Scythe forgot himself for a second and gaped at the mechanical wonderland. With a flourish, the vulpine brandished an arm toward the grandiose entrance of his facility.

Jake McCloud crossed his arms as he studied the place. This would be highly impressive if the young fox blue-printed and built this place himself. Maybe Tails was intelligent enough to bounce some ideas off of. Maybe look at some future projects together. Of course Tails would have to work _under _him.

"Ladies and gents, welcome to the Miles Workshop. Where bettering yourself is only a stop away."

"Thanks for the added slogan, bro," Sonic said; no matter how many times he came here, he was still a little awed.

The sleek, silver building glinted against the sun's bright eye like metal. The building had multiple spirals, statuesque and piercing the sky. The craft and the sleek design only showcased Tails' great creativity and his mastermind.

Sonic wiped a fake tear away; his boy had built this thing from the ground up!The cute, little fox he had raised built this tall, sexy building. Someday he'd hope Flash would maybe…hopefully build something this grand as well.

"So sexy…" Sonic whispered, the awe never leaving him.

"…Huh?" Flash slanted a questioning glance at his dad.

"Oh nothing," Sonic grinned to himself.

Meda just stared at the building, her young face set in utter awe and confusion. She had seen grandiose buildings, as a chief her temple was large, but this was nothing like what she was used to. Was Tikal used to seeing this, structures this great?

"Well we're here to train, right?" Knuckles asked, strolling toward the building, "Let's get to work. This isn't a damn tour."

"Can we take a tour though?" Daisy asked, eyes bright, "I mean look how lovely this place is…I bet it has all these wonderful floors, excellent facilities, magnificent technology, super--"

"Chuckles is right," Scythe grunted, cutting a disturbed glare at his wife, "we're here to train, not…tour this place. We're not at the leaning tower, or Big Ben."

The black and silver hedgehog glanced at Daisy for a second before he cut his eyes over at Achilles. The gold menace was meeting Scythe's hostile glare nonplussed. With one last growl, Scythe stormed into the place after Knuckles.

The Sonics entered the lab only to be followed by Tails and Cream, and the human scientists. As Julie entered with Ceres only a few steps behind, the white hedgehog turned and tossed Achilles a wink. The gold hedgehog chuckled before he gave her a lazy salute and returned her wink.

"Coming in?" Daisy smiled up at Achilles.

"Well, why the hell not," he smiled back at Shortcake, then glanced down at Sunny, "Let's go my little extended family. I would like to stay out here, but Scythe should be coming back at any second now…"

Daisy frowned, "Now why would he come out here?"

Achilles looked bored, "Becausehesajealousnogoodbigotwhohatesmygutstothecoreandhethinksiminterestedinhiswife."

Daisy gasped, not catching all that, "…Huh!? What did you just say?"

"That Scythey should be coming out in five…four…three…two…one…"

With a smirk, Achilles pointed toward the door and Scythe kicked the door open. It was almost funny the way Achilles cued in him in. The second Scythe had burst outside of the building, glancing around furiously for his wife and daughter, he saw Achilles. His brother had his arms wrapped around his wife's shoulder, and a hand upon the top of Sunny's head.

They actually made a rather picturesque family, with daddy Achilles standing in the middle and his wife and daughter by his side. The looked as if they were a cutesy, happy little yellow hedgehog family. Scythe flipped out at such an idea.

"**_WHAT THE FU_**—"

As they strolled into the house, Daisy shot him a skeptical glare before she entered with Sunny in tow. Achilles beamed at Scythe brightly as he passed his brother on the fly, "Bro, if you keep this up, you're going to get high-blood pressure. Cheers!"

With the 'cheers' punctuation, Achilles flickered Scythe in his nose as he continued to follow the others. Scythe didn't know how to react. Here he was ready to beat the snot out of his golden-furred brother, but then Achilles just…blew him off! He was Scythe the damn Hedgehog! Nobody blows Scythe the Hedgehog off!

When Scythe was sure he was out of Sunny's hearing rang, he spat curses that were far too vulgar to be translated.

Tails walked everyone through his workshop that was basically transformed from a small garage into a grand facility. There were all these different, exquisite rooms for all types of training. There was even a large, antigravity room! As they walked passed the 'nutrients room' which was nothing more than a super high-tech kitchen, Tails ended their brief tour.

"And here's the coupe de grace, the spatial chamber!"

The spatial chamber may have had an impressive name, but it looked like a common gym. The surrounding area was large with comfortable, bouncy flooring and many machines. There were multiple treadmills, weights, weight-lifting machines, exercising balls, medicine balls, rock-climbing walls and mirrors adorning every wall.

While glancing around, Flash smiled as he caught sight of his green-eyed reflection. Daisy grinned as her eyes set upon the various yoga mats. Sonic was inching to tear up another of Tails' state of the art treadmills and Knuckles looked as if he wanted to give those mean-looking barbells a whirl.

"But we're not done yet, let's look at the next rooms," Tails waved the others forward as they continued onward.

The next room they passed had a floor that was more padded than the previous one and it made multiple bright colors and markings. Tails smirked as he watched all of his friends glance at their feet, "And if you guys can't tell, this room is the--"

"YAHOO!"

A blue blur suddenly zipped by. Tails sighed resignatedly as the others watched the hero curiously. Sonic tore through the room with a large grin on his face. When he picked up enough speed, Sonic leapt high into the air and turned a series of flips.

Ceres giggled as pure joy dawned on the faces of the others. Tails scratched his head, "--is obviously Sonic's favorite room, and this is called the 'Springboard' or as Sonic calls it the…"

"The bouncy room!" A flipping Sonic called out in the middle of a graceful turn.

"As you can see, the floor is like one big, giant spring," Tails smiled as he pressed his foot into the flooring, "It's just like a trampoline: the more force you put into your jumps, the higher you'll go."

"May we try?" Ceres asked, eyes wide and watching Sonic's carefree flips in astonishment.

"Sure."

With a giggle, Ceres and Sunny took off into the middle of the room and started hopping around. It was only a matter of time before they were jumping high above the heads of the adults.

Ceres giggled and smiled as she performed a back-flip in the air as Sunny did a forward flip. Both girls were laughing as they performed their acrobatic feats at least twenty feet in the air.

Flash and Amy exchanged smiles and laughs before they went to join Sonic and the two other girls. In no time flat, the Sonics were flipping, and spinning in mid air as well. After forcefully tugging a reluctant Scythe, Daisy managed to get her husband to join her in the back-flipping and front-flipping activities festivities.

"Look mama! I'm an acrobat!" Ceres giggled, performing an impressive chain of flips.

"Excellent, Ceres," Julie cracked a small smile.

Meda watched with a passive face, as Achilles watched silently. A couple of the heroes were a bit rusty with their flips, but he'd have to say Sonic and Ceres had the cleanest, best-looking flips of the bunch. But each of them seemed as if they had their own style.

For example, Scythe looked as if he was trying to squeeze five or six flips in one rotation, as Amy barely finished one. She flipped in a large, slow revolution. Knuckles crossed his arms and glared, "I don't see how this is going to help us defeat Chaos. We should get moving."

"Allright everyone, lets get to the other rooms," Tails clapped his hands as the jumpers slowly killed their momentum.

The group slowly herded towards the next room as Sonic finished. He laughed to himself, "Oh yeah, I'm _definitely _coming back."

The next room didn't really need Tails' explanation, the pool and its lit-lanes was self-explanatory. Amy squealed with glee at the sight of a bubbly, nearby hot tub. The following room was the antigravity _(Random A/N: Ride through gravity! That Sonic Riders' song goes!!)_ room. The room had different levels of antigravity that Tails displayed.

On the room's weakest setting, the only thing that seemed to float where their quills. Julie laughed as Knuckles' quills slowly rose above his head, not knowing her own fiery ponytail was doing the same thing. Jake's hair already defied gravity in its spiked blond peaks, but the tails of his lab coat had lifted into the air.

Daisy glanced over at Scythe and giggled at the way his unruly quills hovered. Scythe glanced at her, eyed her a bit before a very, _highly-dangerously_ smug smile came to his face and he pointed at her.

The yellow hedgehog's face nearly went maroon red when she realized her dress had followed the anti-gravity schema as well. She quickly held down the edges, glaring terribly at Scythe who gave her a cheerful thumbs-up. Luckily for her everyone else was busy studying everything else to pay Daisy attention.

"Say, you're wearing what I got you for Valentine's day!" Scythe looked very pleased.

"S-shut up!" she growled, face darkening even worse.

The next level of gravity increase swept everyone off their feet and they were hovering. Ceres squealed with glee as Daisy screamed in horror, failing in mid-air. Meda was surprised, her face giving way for a moment. Even hovering mid-air, Jake was still the epitome of calm: arms crossed and a cool expression that was just waiting for this to be over.

"And last but not least, this is the obstacle course," Tails brandished a hand toward a room filled with various, weird-looking…obstacles.

"I wanna do it!" Ceres hopped around happily.

"Now, this wouldn't be an obstacle course of _death,_ is it Tails?" Scythe arched an eyebrow.

"Oh no," Tails shook his head, "This course have twelve different settings and difficulties: 'Fun', 'Normal', 'Normal plus,' 'Hard', 'Zinger', 'This one's a doosy,' 'Blood rain'…"

"_Blood rain_!?" Knuckles choked on the name of that level. Half of him wanted to see what 'Blood rain' looked like and the other half questioned Tails' sanity.

"Okay," Tails smiled, "Now that you all know about these different training rooms, you all can go ahead and get to work."

As everyone else set off to start their training, Knuckles turned to glance at them askance, "…Am I the only one bothered that Tails named a level 'blood bath'!?"

--

The training centre was being put to use today: Sonic was already running the treadmills out, Knuckles was pumping iron at the barbell station, and Amy went through a run in the obstacle course.

She was sane enough to forgo 'Blood bath' and tried 'Normal plus.' In one of the virtual rooms, Julie was working on strategy, playing a virtue game of battleship against a computer opponent.

Flash and Scythe found themselves sparring the training centre's programmed dummies. Again 'Blood bath' was a difficulty setting. While Ceres and Sunny were taking laps in the pool, Daisy was frowning, trying to find what she was going to do.

Okay so every hero had to have something special, right? Like take Sonic for example, he's super fast, he may not be that strong, but his speed could make up for that. Knuckles was uber strong, and even Amy had the serious megaton hammer of hers.

So what did she, Daisy the Hedgehog have to bring to the table?

…

She couldn't fight at all, she's not strong at all, and yeah…

…

She could run pretty fast! Yeah, that's right, she was good at running…away from scary things. And screaming, yep, she was very good and screaming when she was scared. With a groan, Daisy pressed her forehead against one of the mirrors. What could she do to fight? She had no idea how to use Chaotic attacks, and she didn't want to be helpless at all.

"Is this a normal thing for you?"

Daisy spun to the sound of the voice and found Achilles beaming at her. For a second her blood froze, thinking of him as the gold menace eighteen years ago; that insane smile that played upon his face. But wait, it was okay now, he was different; she could see it in his eyes and how in touch with reality they were.

"No," Daisy sighed, frowning as she closed her eyes, "I…I wanna help everyone fight, but I don't know how to."

"Why?" Achilles looked vaguely surprised.

"Because I don't wanna be pathetic anymore! I'm not gonna stand around and do nothing anymore!" she hissed, but then horror danced upon her face, "Oh…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…erm, explode at you like that."

Achilles laughed though, "No harm, no foul. And by the way, that hasn't been the worst thing that's been said to me."

He paused as he studied her for a second, "So…you really wanna fight, Pseudo sister?"

"Yes I do!"

Achilles looked around before he settled his gaze back on her. They were conveniently smack-dab in the middle of the soft, training padding. There was even a painted, white circle on the ground, something they could use as their boundaries. "Well, let's see what ya got."

The smile wiped off of Daisy's face, "…Guh!?"

"Come at me," he motioned with his hand.

Achilles, the deeper yellow of the two hedgehogs, quickly hopped back several paces to give Daisy her needed space. After moving back ten yards or so, he stopped, locked his arms over his chest and smirked, "Have at it, Pseudo sister. Kick my ass."

"_You_ want _me_ to **attack** **you!**?"

He nodded his head. Daisy gulped then replaced her apprehension with a fierce scowl. She balled her hands into fists and narrowed her eyes; she was trying to do everything she had seen all the good fighters like Scythe, Shadow and Sonic do. That's one thing she was certain about; they all looked really mean when they were about to duke it out.

Oh yeah and they yelled a lot too. What was it called? A war cry? Daisy mustered up every bit of fury she had then charged at the awaiting Achilles. She screeched in an attempt at a war cry but instead of terrifying and ruthless like a lion, she ended up sounding like a wounded mountain goat.

Achilles snorted, attempting to both keep a straight face and to keep himself from out right laughing. Just as Daisy approached him, she swung her right fist and aimed for his face. She hit him. Achilles stared back at her unblinking. He looked away thoughtfully as he tried to analyze her strength. Daisy growled; jerk! She didn't even hurt him!

"Mmm, you're definitely not strong. Not too strong at all. You'll have to fight with a weapon." He came to his conclusion, "And you'll have to work on your battle cry too. I almost wet myself 'cause it was so funny."

"So why," she seethed, "Did we even go through that!? An ego boost for you?"

"No, if you want to fight a foe seriously," Achilles began, sounding far too professional, "Then we'll have to analyze your strengths and weakness." Then an arrogant smile took his face, "However, I _doubt_ that there is a single person here who could actually knock me out flat on my back it's imp--"

The moment of distraction was all it took for Scythe to make his move. Scythe wrapped up Achilles from behind, in some sort of a full-Nelson restraining hold and dumped him un-ceremonially into the matting. Surprisingly, it pleased Daisy to have seen Achilles being flung around like a rag doll.

"Game set and match," Scythe declared with a dark joviality.

"…" From being on his back, Achilles glared at his upside-down brother.

--

Across the ways, Scythe and Achilles had started their own battle, so it was left it Tails care to find Daisy an appropriate weapon. He lead her to a large closet and when he swung the door open, her mouth dropped. Before her was a buffet of weapons; guns, swords, knives, axes, hammers, darts, spears. Just where had the fox found the time to collect such an arsenal.

Tails pulled out a gun, weighed it in his own hands, then turned to look at Daisy; she still looked dazed with the impressive display of weaponry. They walked over to a shooting training room where little red and white bull's eyes were.

"This is the laser rifle," Tails put the gun in her hand, "It's quick, fairly strong and accurate. However, the only downside is that it has a bit of recoil when you fire it." Daisy blinked, "What's--?"

Accidentally, Daisy's finger slipped and fired. She fell on her rear and managed to miss the target completely and hit the steel reinforced walls. Sonic and Knuckles, who happened to be standing by, glanced at her apprehensively. Daisy blinked up, "Whoa…"

"That kick, that's recoil," Tails said as he helped her to her feet. Tails rubbed his chin thoughtfully as studied her, "Well, you're definitely not strong enough to handle that gun. Even I have trouble with it. So, how about we give you the laser magnum."

"Laser magnum?" Daisy took the unwieldy, yet sleek gun in her hand. It was glossy and the color of obsidian. It was bulky, but it was still much lighter than the laser rifle.

Daisy aimed and the target and fired, this time she was much closer to the mark, but she still ended up on her rear. Tails tapped his chin thoughtfully again, he turned to face Sunny, who was curiously by-standing and observing the events, "Could you try to hit that target?"

Maria blinked, then stepped forward eagerly, "Really? Sure!" Daisy handed the gun to her 'niece' and Sunny smiled. She widened her stance, raised the magnum and fired. The target snapped in half easily. From the observatory room, cheers carried. Sunny smirked. Daisy stood up and slapped Tails, "Oww! What was that for!?"

"So what good did that do!?" Daisy huffed, "Everyone knows that Sunny takes after her father! Of course she'd be good at this whole violence thing! I have no athletic ability whatsoever!!"

"Well I had her shoot it to see if the gun was too powerful for you and it was. Let's go a little weaker…"

Tails vanished for a moment as Daisy was left to steam and broil angrily over her daughter's success. Moments later, Tails appeared, "Aww yes, since you're a beginner, I suggest you try the laser pistol."

"Tails, just take it away from her before she accidentally shoots you," Scythe called from the observatory room, "I bet she'll get you in the ass!"

Daisy growled wildly and raised the laser pistol and without so much as blinking, she shattered five targets consecutively. Tails looked genuinely impressed, "Wow. Nice shot."

She blinked, then smiled, "Hey! I did it, that was a nice, huh?"

As Daisy continued her aiming, she was a bit disturbed that every time she imagined the target as Scythe, she was able to blast it into pieces on her first try. With a shrug, she continued obliterating the imagined Scythe-targets.

--

The sun was starting to set and light the sky afire. The great star was a deep, rich red bathed in an ocean of pink, mauve and golden backdrops. With a sigh, Maria decided to break, resting from all those long hours she had spent soaring through the air.

Rouge Maria sat on a rich patch of grass as she painstakingly kicked her sneakers off. She groaned as she carefully stretched her sore, exhausted wings. As she glanced around the plush, green meadow, she noted that there were many old, jagged spires of rock, jutting up from the earth.

She hazily wondered if they had any significance before she released a long yawn. Honestly she was too exhausted to care, and the grass was cool and plush and the weather was nice and temperate for a change. A nice quick nap would suffice for now.

As Maria leaned back, resting and staring at the sky, what she didn't now was that those jagged stones did have an important significance. Those old, crumbling gray slates were multiple, unmarked headstones from so many centuries ago.

And she was falling asleep right in the middle of an ancient graveyard.

--

Sol stood, poised and ready as he stared at Chaos. They stood outside, in the dusty courtyard behind the opulent castle's porcelain walls. A simple circle had been drawn in the soft dust, and it was going to be their ring, the domain where they would dance.

The red-furred echidna licked his parched lips; this time it was now or never. This time he would fight to the death, this time he would sacrifice it all, just as his great ancestors had. After all he was a long-lost son of the Echidna Clan of Emerald.

Both competitions brought a fist to their chests, a sign of respect before a showdown, then slowly dropped into their battle stances. Sol bounced lightly on his toes and Chaos was low to the ground. Although a cool breeze brought dust to their eyes, neither competitior blinked.

"_Ready, challenger_?"

"_Yes_." This was a battle for the Master Emerald and only their rightful tongue would be proper.

"_Rendalia_."

Dance.

With a growl, Sol charged, face calm as he approached the awaiting Chaos. The second he approached, the battle of might began. As they fought, their battle was more beautiful, more artful than just a fist-fight. So much more was poured into their battle: stances, defending, countering, flawless footwork, and anticipation.

The dust was only lightly sifted as their bare feet glided across the smooth, dusty terrain. All types of armor, clothing and adornments, even a monarch would have to remove a crown for a proper fight. Without the ancient robes, Sol was able to see how much of a child he was compared to Turrok.

The chief of the Topaz clan had large, powerful muscles, maybe even more so than his strong father. Although he was well-muscled, Turrok was lithe, and quick and agile on his feet. Every time he moved, the corded muscles in his arms and legs would tighten. Compared to the chief, Sol was a child, skinny and undeveloped.

More swift, quiet moves, and the sound of sifting dirt comprised their dance. Each well-timed, perfect strike Sol sent was like a refined stroke from a painter's brush as they danced in the ring, their canvas. They moved in delicate patterns, attacked and blocked in rhythms.

Every now and then Sol or Chaos would break their pattern to surprise their opponent, then they receded back to their rhythm. As they continued to move and glide around the ring in circular motions, Sol broke out of his pattern and nailed Chaos across the face.

Turrok was surprised for a moment before rage consumed his facial features. The neatly crafted, intricate patterns Turrok had orchestrated were beginning to crumble as his wrath grew. He lashed out at Sol, only to find himself on the wrong end of a fist to the face and a kick to the stomach.

Chaos stumbled, only to take a head-on tackle from Sol. After knocking down the bigger echidna, Sol rose to his feet and waited, as he had been taught by his father, it was weak to kick a man who was down. However if he stayed down too long, then yank him up.

With a growl, Chaos lunged for Sol sloppily. With an artful spin, Sol maneuvered behind the tyrant and sent a roundhouse that laid Chaos out. Turrok hit the ground on his back, eyes wide as he glared at Sol.

The young echidna stood over him, face a sea of calm as his bright eyes were dead set upon Turrok. While he was the perfect picture of calm, there was a silent abated fury behind his eyes. The blood of the Emerald Clan roared, searing in his veins as a reminder of where he came from.

"_I am Sol_," he narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "_son of Princess Tikal, the current ruler of Echidna Clan of Emerald. My lineage contains great chiefs and guardians of the past and this is what I am meant to do."_

"_And who is your pathetic father_?" Chaos said through gritted teeth; he didn't realize he was bleeding.

"I_ am Sol, son of Knuckles, an orphan, a no name_," Sol's expression didn't falter at that, "_He may have come from nothing, but he was deemed worthy as the guardian of the Master Emerald. He may have not been born royalty, but he was good enough to do it_."

Turrok slowly rose to his feet, "_And what is your goal?"_

_"Easy. To become the guardian, just as my ancestors_."

Turrok nodded his head and resumed his stance. This time Turrok charged, fighting and throwing punches at Sol wildly. With his calm, Sol was not disturbed and he was landing blows, multiple blows upon Chaos. In fact, Chaos' pattern had become so sloppy that it was too easy.

'_Something's wrong.'_

Sol kept battering and bruising Chaos without breaking a sweat. There were far too many holes and loops in his offense and it seemed as if every second Sol was smacking him; the flaws were right there! Blindingly so.

Then Chaos went down a second time and as he did so, blood splattered from his mouth, staining the dust. Turrok glared up at him balefully, mouth twisted up real good and ugly in a sneer. Then suddenly his eyes went wide and he become to choke, more fluid spilling from his lungs.

He grabbed his throat and clawed at it as he coughed, fluid spewing from his lungs in doses. Sol stepped away from Turrok, stance still holding, "_Do you concede Turrok? Do you give up?"_

_"…I…never_!" he growled angrily, then his face contorted and he hacked up more blood.

His lips peeled back angrily, revealing bloody teeth and a split lip. In the face of glaring anger, Sol stood solemnly. Turrok tried to stand to his feet, but his strength gave and he collapsed, sending a wave of dust, sand into the air. Sol was unmoved.

"…_I…"_ Turrok lowered his head, ocher quills falling in his face, "…_I concede…"_

Sol narrowed his eyes, "_Louder."_

Turrok looked stunned before he growled, like a wounded, cornered animal, "_I concede!!"_

The fire-furred youth stood, slowly dropping his stance. This battle was officially over. He had regained the title he had been stripped of. Although his face was blank, Sol felt happy, ecstatic. He had regained his honor, his vigor. It was like an exiled king returning to his throne.

The emotion, the mirth grew too great and suddenly Sol felt his emotionless mask crumble. His face screwed up as he felt tears threaten his visage and he quickly turned his back, to hide such tears from Chaos. His eyes squeezed tight to prevent the flow of tears, and yet he was happy.

He could take his mother home back to his father. He could smile and laugh again. Why, he could even go home and rekindle things with Maria. Sol's mind began to wander to the scene of his homecoming. It would be overly romantic and glorified, but it would be his victorious homecoming.

Sol could see himself walking home, recognizing the silhouette of his home in the distance. It had been awhile since he had some of his mother's tasty hotcakes, and his father's famous beef stew. It had been so long since he had mediated at dawn, in the meadow right outside of his house.

He would walk home, and Maria would slam the front door open, because she had seen him approaching. Her face would be both angry and concerned, ready to both curse and cry at the same time. She would be ready to hit, to strike and yet to kiss, to love at the same time.

They would both approach and Sol would stop before her. Maria would whisper his name softly and then Sol would break forth, grab that firm, thin waist of hers and pull her into a heated kiss.

Their mouths would struggle, fight for dominance, taste and learn each other's flavors. He would run his hands through her soft hair and she would tangle her small hands into his rough, spiky quills.

She would finally be his.

Sol left his happy dream and glanced down at Turrok. With one last huff of disgust, Sol turned and headed out of the ring. It was time to find his mother.

It was time to begin a new life.

It was time to…

A bloody hand wrapped around Sol's neck, efficiently restricting the air flow from his pipes. Sol choked, wrapping his hands around the offending appendages, trying to pry them loose. Chaos growled, eyes bloodshot and furious.

"_You foolish, little bastard!"_ Chaos roared, gold eyes bright and incensed, "_Did you think I would allow a half-blooded, pathetic bitch like you to obtain the Master Emerald!? No peasant, no son of a peasant will guardian the Master Emerald!! Not while I live_!"

"I…beat…you…in the…duel..." Sol gasped, eyes clenched shut.

"_Perhaps. But you're not a true warrior. You should have taken my life_!" Turrok sneered, snorting a mixture of blood and snot, "_But your weak father, didn't teach you correct. You should have finished me! And now you pay! Impure, peasant-blooded bitch!!"_

Quickly, Chaos turned Sol around so that the boy was facing him. Sol roared, eyes shinning with tears; he had beaten Turrok fair and square, and now he was going to die, for being honorable. He stared in the red, blood-shot eyes of the beast. Man, after looking at Chaos up-close, there was no wonder why Tikal married Knuckles, he was way better looking than this guy.

_'I…did the honorable thing…For a moment, I was a part of my long lost clan. I'm only sorry I had failed to stop him…'_

An acidic, green glow started to burn from Chaos' hands. For a moment, Sol forgot the pain and narrowed his eyes, staring Chaos right, dead in the eyes. As the green light grew, stronger and more terrible, Sol felt something ebbing, eating his consciousness.

As Sol stared into the face of the blood-shot, ugly monster, his aquamarine eyes slowly faded into a dark, red color. And then, he blacked out. (_A/N prt II: Chaos was pissed! Tempted to end it here, but Alicestarr threatened to beat me senseless if I did…thank that evil, violent woman…)_

--

After three heroes in the training centre, the heroes decided to divide into two teams. Tails, Amy, Cream and Daisy would set up Tails' port-o- lab (_Sonic: Holy crap Tails! You have a frickin' portable lab!?)_ and station it right outside of the Master Emerald's Shrine as the rest of the squad used Tails' Workshop and his training centre to hone their skills.

Achilles wasn't surprised that this plan excluded him all together. He walked outside, glaring at the purple sky with the starry milieu. The stars twinkled and glowed like little lights in their indigo, amethyst blanket of sky.

As he began to walk away from the lab, he heard a set of footsteps land somewhere behind him. Achilles hissed, for once irate about being followed around like a criminal, all of this bad blood against his was really starting to piss him off.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his brother's black fur, "Damn it, what the hell do you want now Scythe!?"

"…I'm not Scythe."

Achilles felt his eyes go wide as his breath caught in his throat. That deep, silken voice may have been smooth, but hostility was expertly layered underneath that sleek voice. As the gold menace spun, turning, he did in fact catch black fur.

Only it didn't belong to his brother.

It belonged to Shadow.

The ultimate life form slowly rose to his feet, eyes narrowed and mouth perfectly straight. Again light clashed against dark: gold fur vs. black and cobalt blue eyes against blood red. The one being Achilles had been trying to avoid, had tracked him out like a sleuth.

There was no where to hide, nowhere to run. He had to face his biggest demon yet. As Achilles stared at him, eyes wide and surprised, Shadow was trembling, anger burning through his blood and fury pulsing through his systems.

This was the creature that had made his daughter motherless, him mate less. Every one, all of his friends walked around with their other half, all except him. He was like a half of a person, he wasn't complete without her and he would never be. All because of this gold-furred monster.

The thoughts running through his mind were muddled, not even comprehensible. But somehow Shadow knew what he felt, what he wanted. It was all jumbled together messily, thoughts, wants, and pains all in one ugly, untidy mess.

' _Love Rouge. Hate Achilles. Monster stands before. RIGHT HERE. Maria. ACHILLES. Rouge gone. Gone. GONE. GONE. MONSTER LIVES. KILL ACHILLES. Rouge. Sorry. Maria. Sorry. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge. Rouge. Maria. Achilles. Achilles. ACHILLES. REVVENGE. HONOR. LOVE. ROUGE. Maria. Kill. Blood. Strike. Strike. Hurt. Kill. KILL. KILL. Rouge. Sorry. Maria. Sorry. Achilles. Revenge. Sorry._'

As Achilles took a step backwards, something clicked, triggered as the furious dark red irises rolled in the back of Shadow's head. To Achilles' utter most horror, Shadow didn't faint, or anything like that, if anything he looked more furious than before.

He roared, white-eyes narrowed, teeth bared with saliva dribbling down his chin. Shadow released a hellish roar as he suddenly darted forward at a wide-eyed, terrified Achilles. The door to the lab opened as Sonic walked out, whistling the tune of, 'Pyramid Cave.'

He was going to take a nice, night run. Ah man, there was nothing like a nice run at night: the air was perfectly cool and crisp, and the moon always provided a nice guiding glow. As Sonic began to stretch his muscles, his ears twitched, picking up a sound.

As Sonic stretched out his quads, he smiled as he saw Shadow. Hey! It was ole Shaddy-boy! Where the heck had he been all day?! He missed all the important meeting stuff and now he shows up when everyone's ready to fight.

Sonic frowned, suddenly releasing how possessed, how un-Shadow like he looked. The blue champ rose to his feet and decided to see where Shadow was running to. In the ultimate one's path was Achilles.

The blue champ blinked.

_Achilles?_

_ACHILLES!!_

_Oh shit!!_

"Shadow! Stop! Stop!!" with a cry, Sonic started running.

This was going to end badly.

REALLY badly…

**To be continued!**

_Wow, alotta people mad this time around. This time doing the reviews, we have Achilles. The insane version._

Achilles: (Sweat drop) Thanks… (Mutters) I'll set you on fire later…

Mystery 001: Has it really been a year later? A year since I pwned so much ass in Love's Burn. Hehe…HAHAHA! (Calm again) Well, at any rate, the next chapter should be up soon. Continue to read and review or I'll kill ya! (Smiling, waving, and dead serious about the threat)

Shadowsole: (Eats Christmas lunch (which is probably rotten by now)) Ah, tasty. You have potential as a chef. It's a shame I'll have to kill you soon…Continue to read and review! (Waves)

Mesafinein09: (Thinking) If the pregnant girls are kicking their own husband's asses, then I can't… (frowns) Hmm…(Happy again) Oh well, I'll just…kinda…kill them all.

Syrian Princess: 21 pages is a lot (Ultrra: A damn lot!!) (Angry) And yet in all of those 21 pages I don't think I was FEATURE ONCE! ONCE! (happy again) Thanks for the review! Come back soon (Evil smile) Or I'll find you….

SexyShadowGirl: A quick reader huh? Well I have a question for you? Have you ever…seen a car, or maybe an android explode? It is the best thing ever! And the fire is so pretty. (Dreamy look) So if you read this chapter really fast, then to kill time, just watch a couple of cars explode. …What? How could a car explode? Don't worry now, I'll take care of that. And don't say I haven't done anything for you. Thanks for reading and reviewing! This is your neighborhood-friendly arsonist!

#17: (Narrows eyes) What information did you just say?? Shadow had four rings to make himself stronger? (Plotting) This IS very valuable information I can use to my advantage…

TwilightChao: (Grinning) Scythe! Ha! Oh big brother! (Shocked) Whoa, okay. Did you know him and Pseudo sister got married!? And then they got busy! (Laughing) He really DID like Pseudo! And guess what else!? They had a kid! (Cracking up) Scythe is a daddy! A daddy! Hahaha! Thanks for the review! Why I remember one time when I had a pet Chao and I—(edited for the sake of domestic violence)

Momo: Hey! This is the girl who drew me! (Glad) Ah, and she captured my sexiness! I am.DAMN. Sexy (Scythe: NO I AM! YOU SUXORS!!) Glad you liked the chapter…Hm, now who's Maria? I haven't met a Maria before…

Dmanb: (High-fives back) Thanks for the review my friend. Say, do you enjoy sparring? You see I've been looking for a good partner for awhile and I'm afraid I've…broken them all…(Evil crazy smile) Wanna spar??

DaughterDunTing: Guns? GUNS!? (Smiling) I LIKE this girl!! ARE YOU SEEING ANYONE!? (Ultrra: I was laughing so damn hard at this review) Tell me now, do you have a hobby of shooting things? If so, do you mind if I join you? I'm good at…killing things… (Smiles happily) Bye-bye now!

Thesorrows: (Confused) Wait…you're 17? But….no…you're thesorrows. But you're…………17? (Confused and grabbing his head) ARGH! I'm so confused! MUST…KILL…SOMETHING!! (Runs outside)

Ultrra: My favorite character I've made…uh…

(Every one of my characters leans forward, waiting)

…Well…

(Still waiting)

…Uh…

Scythe: HA! See! It's me!

Maria: No! It's gotta be me! I kick ass!!

Flash: C'mon guys, its yours truly.

Daisy: It's me 'cause I'm cute.

Ceres:…Aren't I…cute?

Sol: I know how to solve this…

Everyone:..Yeah?

Sol:…

Sol: (Looking at you) **I'm the best.**

Scythe: Oh!? You think you're the best 'cause you made your words bold!? Look! **BOLD!**

Maria: **Bold!**

Flash: _Italics!_

Sunny: …

Sol: Underline

Maria: B**oth**

Scythe: **_Both! Fire away!_**

Ceres: **Bold!**

Sunny: **_All._**

…

Lol, honestly I can't say how my favorite character is. But it has to be a draw between Scythe and Maria. (Scythe: Bite me! Maria: You suck!) Scythe is fun to write because he's no longer completely evil. But he's not all that nice either. And with Maria's character I can incorporate humor. She's brash, loud, curses, and she's the complete opposite of Shadow. Oh, and I know who scourge is. (Thinking) I see that too, but I see Flash looking more like him than Scythe. The way Momo drew Scythe, he looked EXACTLY how I pictured him! Scourge would look like Flashy.

Scythe: (Surprised to death) Holy #!? I'm his favorite character! Yeah (Smug) Sex sells baby, it does.

??Yeeeahh, but hey, here's your chapter! Enjoy!

Achilles: (returns) Okay, who'd the last review?

Shinju the rabbit: (Surprised) Hey! Wow, you read this first before Love's Burn? That means, you didn't see my awesome pwange! I pwed the galaxy so hard…Maria and Flash huh…Now I wonder where they live…(Jumps out a window) Thanks and see ya around!!


	14. Raijingeki

**UlTrRa**** SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ: **

_Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

A/N: Haha! Look how soon I updated! Huh? HUH!? I love reading my reviews and each one either explicitly or covertly told me the same thing: Ultrra, get off your ass and UPDATE! School's not in for me yet (Haha! You suckers!) So I can squeeze this puppy out real quick !(Eew! How nasty did that sound!? Lol)

-I hope I haven't starved you guys out for action…But you've got tons of it in this chapter! So enjoy! I didn't have the reviews answered this time, but I'll post 'em up later in the week. So check back for 'em!

-PS: And someone impress me, why did I give the chapter this name? Read the chap and learn why! :)

--

**-Epilogue: The Path Of Brilliance- **

Raijingeki "Raijin Attack"

POV:

Achilles

Ever had one of those moments when it's fight or flight? Do or die? Well, here's my moment. Let me offer you the million-dollar question: What do you do when a pissed, black and red hedgehog is foaming at the mouth, with the intention of killing you?

…Yeah, I'm still waiting for the answer to that one too. All I know is that my heart is pounding, my senses are alive and vigorous. I can feel the excitement of a prospective fight beckoning me seductively.

Damn it…

…Must resist…

If I fight him, then the others will hate me more…

For a moment, I'm sure panic must have flashed across my face. But then it was slowly replaced with a feeling, a stimulus I was so familiar with. I had to fight. I don't know what it was, but the idea of facing a strong foe…_excited_ me.

Here he is, the same hedgehog that had brutalized my ass so many years ago. I couldn't even hold a kindle to the kind of power he had. It was so potent, so concentrated, and so massively overwhelming. Was he still as strong as he was so may years ago?

Well, it looks like we're gonna find out, now won't we?

With a bloodthirsty roar, Shadow lunged straight for me, arms extended and quills standing on end. His eyes were completely white; what in the hell is wrong with him!? I avoided his first lunge with a backflip and within seconds he was on me like white on rice. Fighting defensive isn't exactly my forte,--I'd rather be the one doing the scarring--but Shadow's assault left no room for argument.

He was roaring, slashing away at me like a feral animal, something ferocious. As he sent a fast swipe my way, I was able to catch his hand and squeeze it into a fist. He lashed out at me again, and I was able to use the same procedure to bar him.

I struggled, teeth gritted, muscles tense as I tried to restrain this furious animal. But it was so hard to do, he's wild and gone completely off the deep end: he's screaming, roaring, clawing at me and digging his nails into the skin of my arms. Angry, red swells are starting to mar the areas where he's scratched and bit me.

There had to be a better way than just defending; its only a matter of time before I have to fight him. I'll lose--hell, I'll die if I don't fight him back. I have to, screw what the others will think for once! This is self-preservation here!

"No! Stop! Shadow! Stop!!"

Just for a moment I turn my head toward the sound of the voice. Hero-boy the Hedgehog (Sonic) appeared in a hurried waft of dust, looking heavily concerned. That moment of distraction was all Shadow needed, and he viciously reached out and knocked me to the floor with a pretty hard punch.

I find myself staggering backwards as Hero suddenly appeared behind Shadow, locking him into a restraining hold. This looks to be only further fueling Shadow's rage. His completely blank, white eyes are narrowed even further as he lets out an unearthly roar, as if he was truly infuriated that he couldn't be ripping me apart right now.

I shakily rise to my feet, my bruising jaw not the only thing hurting, but my ego included. It takes everything I have not to hit that guy. Every bone, tendon, ligament, is screaming for me to return the favor. But if I took a shot at him, then I'd be even further in the doghouse.

**"You little bitch!" **Ah, there's my second voice again, gotta love how he encourages me, **"Fight him! This is our chance to get Shadow! Eighteen years ago he may have been stronger, but now let's show him our true strength!!"**

_'No. Didn't I tell you to take a hike already?"_

Gold Demon—that's what I call my annoying, crazy voice—roared angrily, **"Fight him!! Do it!"**

_'Nope.__ Hero's got everything under control.'_

Yeah, that's not true at all. It looks as if Hero's hold on Shadow was diminishing second by second. It was only a matter of time before Shadow broke his hold and was back to murdering me. I licked my dry lips; I had to help him.

I quickly grabbed one of Shadow's legs. My touch, my presence must have just pissed him off to no end. He was roaring even louder, kicking, struggling fervently to break free. Hero glanced up at me wearily, as if not sure how to stop him. The blue hedgehog's face seemed to say, '_Now what!?'_

I narrowed my eyes; Shadow, your little tantrum as gone on for too long now. Instinctively I did the first thing that came to mind.

I slapped him. And hard.

Shadow looked stunned for a moment before he became twelve times more furious, and now he was screaming, trying to tear and break our holds so he could attack again. Again I smacked him across the face but this time Hero glared at me skeptically.

"What in the hell are you doing!?"

"Slapping the hell outta him!"

"No duh, I see that!"

"Tryin' to slap some sense into him."

"We gotta think of something," Hero groaned, "I don't think I can hold him much longer…He's…too strong…"

I glared away as I tried to think of something, anything to get him to snap out of this state. He's nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster, with a hunger that can only be quenched through my pain, with my blood being spilt. If only I had avoided him better, this would have never happened.

**"Kill him. That will solve your problems you push-over."**

Suddenly relief washed over Hero's face, a bright smile appearing, "Scythe!"

I glanced toward the training centre's entry and saw my brother's form. Tall, dark and moody, Scythe's scowl was directed in our route, "What's going on?"

"No time to explain, just come over here and help!!" Hero cried, glaring at me a second before he looked at Shadow.

The second I turned to Shadow again, I realized my grip was only on one of his legs. That left the other one free to bitch-kick the hell outta me, and he did just that too. He seemed to realize that too, and in a matter of seconds, Shadow reached forward and sprung a kick right into my face.

Vaguely I could register Sonic's curses and the sounds of Scythe's Jordans padding our way. My face, my nose felt like it was burning, as if I had inhaled bleach through my nostrils. The pain was so great, so damn painful that I couldn't concentrate on anything else me.

For a moment I felt my vision blur, phasing in and out like a weak satellite channel, and I could feel myself hacking, choking on air. It was reflexive when I stumbled backwards, face scorching with an unholy pain. I felt something dripping down my face and I pressed a gloved-finger to my nose.

I was bleeding.

Wait…_blood?_

_Blood. That feels so weird. I suddenly feel...happy? The rest of my body feels great too. I can't explain this new feeling exactly: it feels like my systems are rejuvenated, like I'm invincible. In fact, my nose really doesn't hurt all that much anymore. _

_In fact I feel really…happy now. The scent of blood is swimming in my nostrils, and its aroma is so sharp, so tart that it's the only thing I can focus on. In my mouth I can taste the blood, it has a fascinating, coppery taste that lights my systems on fire. _

_There's no other thoughts in my mind now, all I want is blood. I can't help it. Thinking about blood makes me feel heady, lighthearted and giddy. I want to laugh, and I want to smile because the overwhelming sensation of blood is magical!_

_I want to taste more blood, see it, I want to smell it. I want to shed their blood. I want to shed Shadow's blood, Hero's blood, and even my brother's blood. Now I start laughing, ignoring the way they all turn and stare at me. _

_I quickly wipe the blood from my face and smear it on my hand to sample its tart, metallic taste. I couldn't help but moan at the delicious taste; so sharp and tart and yet sweet as well. I won't waste an ounce of this stuff and I quickly lap the rest of it off of my fingers and grin. _

**Now I want to taste their blood. I set my vision upon that wretched hedgehog: Shadow. I turn to him and laughed, I knew my face was bright with a smile, "You want to fight me, Shadow?"**

_'No! What are you doing!? What the hell happened!?'_

**Ah, its that Pansy-voice. I'm tired of allowing myself to be everyone's lapdog. Stepping on eggs shells is something he can do, but not I. But not me, the true Achilles. The original! These fools better be prepared for what I'm about to give them. They're all about to get a taste of their own medicine!**

**'What's wrong pansy!? I hope you enjoy seats to the show! I'm about to wipe out these so-called friends of yours!'**

_'No!' _**Sissy-Achilles cried, **_'No, no, no! Stop! If you harm them I swear I'll—'-_

**The pathetic fool, I stopped listening to him as I turned to grin at that blue hedgehog and the failed Prototype. I could feel the grin stretch across my face, the familiar groove of power coursing within me. I am the perfect creation my father Eggman wished me to be. I will gain vengeance upon Shadow.**

"Achilles?" **the blue hedgehog sounded unsure.**

"What the hell is happening to you!?" **My brother/prototype asked with anger upon his features.**

**With a chuckle I turned to glance at them, "Guess what? I'm back! Hi, my name's Achilles' and I'm going to kill you all!"**

**--**

After a quick good-bye, the others disappeared in an arc of jade light and team Tails 'n' girls set to work. In a matter of a half hour, they had the mini, portable lab up and operating; Tails' brilliance was really something.

They were stationed outside of the Master Emerald's shrine as a line of defense. As the others were away training, this is what team Tails 'n' girls would be protecting. The port-o-lab sat in the middle of the green tropic land, standing out as foreign in the jungle-setting.

McCloud, before he and the others resumed their work at the training centre, had left Tails with a parting gift. In the case of Turrok's arrival, Jake left them with one of his favorite Barracudas, and the Alpha of the pack, Flatfoot.

Unlike all its Barracuda kin, Flatfoot had glowing green eyes and was by far larger. Silver, sharp metal comprised of its mane and the cybernetic wolf was at least ten feet tall when 'he' sat on his haunches. When Jake introduced his favorite pet, Daisy had shrieked shrilly, causing Flatfoot to flatten his ears against his metallic skull and howl.

_"Quit being stupid," Jake had replied to Daisy's outburst, "Flatfoot is completely loyal and with his given orders, he will protect you."_

_The massive wolf slowly walked over to Amy and nudged its large head into her shoulder. Amy looked confused, "What…does Flatfoot want?"_

_Jake rolled his eyes, "For a lean, mean, killing machine, Flatfoot is certainly needy. Rub the spot behind his ears."_

_Amy shrugged and rubbed Flatfoot's head. She as well as Tails and Daisy, laughed as she heard a content purr ooze from the Barracuda. _

With Flatfoot sloughing around in the port-o-lab, the group felt much safer. And so far everything was well: Amy was baking cookies, Tails was working on a new gadget as Cream read a book with Flatfoot curled lazily near her feet. Every hour they would switch watch duty and monitor the cameras.

Everything was relatively peaceful, and every now and then the cameras would only pick up nearby squirrels, and any other small, curious creatures that had approached the lab. It was currently Daisy's turn to keep watch and she gazed at the monitors listlessly, holding back a yawn. Her eyes glazed over the screens with an aching boredom. It should have been illegal to be this damn. BORED.

_'Screen one, check.'_

_'Screen two check.'_

_'Screen three che—huh? Oh, just a squirrel. Check.'_

_'Screen four—huh!?' _

Squinting earth-brown eyes, Daisy quickly tapped on the keyboard, zooming in on what she thought she had seen. A nearby camera zoomed in on the approaching object and left no room for doubt. Daisy felt that uneasy feeling, as color drained from her face.

Without a second thought she rose from her seat, abruptly sending the chair to scrap against the hardwood floor. She spun around to face Tails as she wobbled over to him. Currently the genius was blow-torching, immersed in his work, tinkering with whatever gadget he was currently creating.

Trembling, Daisy slowly stumbled toward him, face dead white, "O-oh my gosh…"

Tails elevated his gaze and raised the mask off his face, "Hm? What is it Daisy?"

He switched the blowtorch off as he gave her his undivided attention.

"Ah-ah…"

Tails and Cream exchanged hesitant glances at each other; was this another joke Sonic had gotten Daisy involved with? Amy ambled upstairs glancing at the trio, "Hey! Cookies are done!"

A happy sounding bark echoed through the lab as Flatfoot pranced in seconds later, his wiry tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Tails would never get used to the idea of having to reach so far up to pet and groom a ten-foot tall canine. Cream giggled as she patted Flatfoot, and already he exposed his belly to her.

"Daisy, what's wrong?" Cream asked as Daisy came to admire Tails' new invention in progress.

"G-uh, g-uh…" Daisy gibbered while biting her fingernails.

"Ah, Sonic's just got her in on one of his jokes," Tails rolled his eyes as he went back to viewing his blueprints. Amy, who was fed up with the foolish stuttering routine, walked over to Daisy and shook her, "Shortcake, what's wrong!? C'mon answer me!"

"CHAOS IS COMING THIS WAY!" She screamed, knocking Amy off her feet. Tails and Cream paused and glanced at her as if she had grown a second head. Immediately both Tails and Cream ran to monitor screens to glance around their lookout. Sure enough, the built form of Chaos was strutting right toward them.

"Holy…" Tails breathed

"SHIT!!" Daisy screamed, finishing his statement.

"Chaos…!" Amy breathed, green eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

As she stumbled backwards, the yellow hedgehog ended up tripping over her own two feet and toppled over backwards. Daisy squealed as she somersaulted into a wall as both Amy and Tails rushed downstairs. Amy quickly picked up her claret and gold mallet as Tails rushed into his garage, deciding on which gadget to attack Chaos with.

Tails deployed the first level of security, where a solid steel fence enclosed around the entire workshop. With the cameras surrounding the perimeter of the workshop, both Tails and Amy were able to watch Chaos' actions safely from within their place.

Cream came up beside Amy and Tails, looking over their shoulders and zoomed in on the monitor. The metallic clanks and whiny of Flatfoot's metal sounded as he carefully sat behind the others. He growled before he irritably scratched behind his ear. Cream glanced at the Barracuda before she peered up at the screen; what was Chaos going to do in the face of opposition?

The muscle-bound tyrant stopped walking and smirked; _aww__, are these creatures calling themselves barricading me? Truly, they know little of who they deal with! _Smirking, Chaos took a battle stance and with a loud cry, smashed right through one area of the reinforced wall. Both Amy and Cream blanched as Tails grimaced; that guy broke right through steel titanium!

"He broke through the wall as if it was nothing!" Cream gasped, spooked beyond belief.

"M-monster!" Amy whispered, "We can't let him through! The Master Emerald is right behind us!"

With furrowed brows, Tails continued his rapid precession of typing and more steel walls rose around the workshop. As the myriads of steel walls rose, Chaos broke through each level easily, sending a furious fist through each blockade. Amy didn't want to mention it out loud, but it looked like Chaos was having fun, breaking through their walls as if it were a game.

Tails, still undeterred by the first failures continued to tinker away at his keyboard and a legion of his created androids, that looked suspiciously like the E-100 series, dropped before Chaos. (_A/N: Yeah, Tails probably jacked the design from Eggman, haha_.)

Chaos watched with a polite interest as the androids stomped toward him, their metal feet crunching into the earth. Even a few of the metallic Barracudas were there. The half canine, half android creations traveled in arcs, the bluish light of their eyes glowing and metallic growls rumbling in their throats.

The ocher echidna merely smirked, "Is this _supposed_ to challenge my strength?"

"Tails, what else do you have to stop him?" Amy asked as green eyes shifted toward the golden fox. After hacking on the keys for a few seconds more, Tails finally returned an answer, "I put everything I have out there; mines, the entire android combat series, lasers, guns, everything. If he makes it through that…"

Blue eyes met Amy's; her eyes widened in apprehension, "…Then _we_ have to stop him."

Daisy scrambled downstairs and toppled into Cream's arms. As the tan rabbit blinked in stupor, Amy lowered her eyelids irately; the yellow hedgehog had to really get herself together. Before Amy Rose could correct her demeanor, Daisy looked at both Tails and Amy, "Chaos! He's coming!"

"We already know that!" Amy said through gritted teeth, but Daisy shook her head, "No! I was watching him and he managed to get a hold of one of the guns and he's coming this way! He's on his way--!"

A loud explosion sounded, then a second followed. The group was knocked off their feet after the second loud eruption. With the blare of the explosion, the entire workshop shook. Amy clamped her eyes shut tight as she covered her head. Another bang rang out and Tails dove over Cream to protect her as she cried out in fear.

Fragments of the ceiling came pouring down in smoke and tiny pieces and with a grimace, Amy buried her face into her hands. The ceiling plaster stopped reigning upon her and she glanced up to see Flatfoot standing over her protectively.

When the ruckus finally settled, Tails slowly rose off the floor and onto his knees. He glanced down at Cream, who blushed and smiled up at him appreciatively as they both rose to their knees. It was utterly unladylike to have been splayed on the floor in the manner she had been!

Amy's head appeared above the desks and tabletops and found the eyes of Miles Prower, "…What was that?"

"Do you_ really_ want to know the answer to that?" Tails broke eye contact momentarily to search for the yellow hedgehog, "Daisy? Are you all right?"

A shaky hand waved over the tops of the desks, "O-oh yeah, I'm f-fine."

The girls gathered around the lab's large screen; Tails frowned slightly as he checked all the cameras outside. Chaos had done one helluva job wiping out his defenses; androids were in pieces, the Barracudas were lifeless and numerous holes were in the broken titanium walls. The tyrant had left the remains of his battle behind him like some kind of overturned graveyard.

Flatfoot whined, his ears flattened against his head at the sight of his fallen Barracuda brothers. He pawed at the ground nervously as his uneasy pitch rose into a mournful cry. Amy glanced at the wolf sympathetically, rubbing the cool mane behind his shoulders.

The golden fox frowned; _if I can't find that guy out there, then that means…_Suddenly a large red dot appeared on the screen. A complex map appeared on the monitor and the red dot was flashing. Daisy frowned, "What does that mean?"

"That," Tails pointed to the flashing icon, "Is where Chaos has broken in. He's on the first floor." The three girls looked at him, each with various degrees of fear on their face; Cream spoke, "He's on the first floor!? And we're _okay with that_!?"

"Yes, he is on the first floor but we're in the third basement," Tails replied, typing away at the keyboard, "If you've got a weapon, I suggest you get it. I've locked us all in."

Amy immediately took the unwieldy Piko Piko hammer in hand as Daisy, trembling, took the laser pistol in hand. With a gulp, Cream pressed her hands to her chest as she stepped behind Flatfoot. Tails nodded his head then turned to leave, Amy frowned, "Tails where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the Tornado," Tails called over his shoulder, "I'm going to nuke that guy." He paused, then turned to glance at them, "I want you girls to take my airplane, then you could escape here."

"And leave you to fight Chaos all by yourself?" Amy slung the mallet over her shoulder, "I honestly don't think so."

"Sonic's going to kill me if anything happens to you," Tails replied but Amy smiled.

"No, I'm not a coward, I'm going to stand here and fight by your side. Right Daisy?"

The yellow hedgehog nodded, "R-right…"

"Tails," Cream called, glancing between the monitor and her husband, "H-he's at the first basement…"

Tails sighed as he hopped into the tornado, "_Please_ could you girls leave?"

"Um how does, 'Hell no' work out for you?"

The fox bit his lip before he narrowed his eyes. It was inbred in him to be a nice guy, but he just hated being mean. But when push came to shove, he had to be. This was one of those times he needed to get Amy and the girls the hell outta here before Chaos came barreling in.

"Amy…Daisy…Cream…" Tails breathed in a deep voice, "Leave _now_."

Amy narrowed her eyes, "No."

"Go before I force you to leave."

"No."

With a growl, Tails hopped out of the tornado with his blue eyes flashing. He cracked his neck as he headed for Amy, who was standing with her arms akimbo, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Tails! No!!" Cream squealed, "Don't hurt her!"

Daisy watched wide-eyed at what was probably the first time she had seen Tails become violent. Daisy knew the second he tugged on Amy's quills; it was the second their brawl began. Amy's eyes went wide in shock before they took on a crazed, furious glow; game on.

( _A/N mid humor: (turns on Super Smash brothers brawl Final destination music))_ There was fervent cursing, shoving, hitting, punching, and even a few slaps echoed through the room. The beating was clearly one-sided and it was almost too painful to watch. Cream gaped on in horror as Daisy gulped.

The short (A/N: and rather sad) brawl ended with Tails stumbling backwards and landing on his rear as Amy stood over him, glowering down at him. Tails looked as if he took the brunt end of the damage as he had a nice shiner appearing over one of his eyes, and Amy only had mussed quills. Daisy blinked, she had counted on a single hand how many times Tails had even _touched_ Amy.

Game: Amy Rose.

"…Oh…." Cream blinked, she was glad Amy didn't use her hammer or the one-sided battle would have been much uglier.

A scratchy noise from Flatfoot's snout sounded suspiciously a snicker.

"What the hell, Tails!?" Amy growled, "We don't need to be fighting each other! We have Chaos to deal with. I win, so I say we stay! …And besides, there hasn't been a DAY where you ever beat me in arm wrestling, what in the world makes you think you could take me in a fight!?"

"That's okay," Tails said darkly, quickly hopping into the Tornado, "I'll just blow you to smithereens with my massive missiles and guns!"

Cream glanced at the screen and gulped, "H-he's coming!"

All voices silenced as a loud pounding came from outside of their door. Tails shot Amy one last dirty look before he hopped into the Tornado and started booting up its system. As the lights and computer to his machine came on, Tails cursed as he rubbed his swollen cheek; that savage! Amy had slapped the daylights out of him!

For a second he wondered if Sonic had ever fallen prey to spousal abuse. Now that he did think about it…The blue hero _did _always end up wielding to her demands…Wonder why that always happens…

Tails blinked as he saw the metal door give, bending under the stress of Chaos' power. With one last wrench, the beaten door crumbled in, giving entry into the room. A growl tore from her throat as Amy turned to face the door, her Piko Piko hammer tight within her grip.

He made it.

Chaos had infiltrated.

With a chuckle, Turrok slowly slipped through the door, a pleased smile highlighting his features, "Knock, knock."

With a fierce bark, Flatfoot's ears pressed against his skull as the green fluoresce of his eyes sifted red. The massive cyber wolf roared, as it crouched, ready to gut his foe. The whines of his mechanical joints were the only indication of Flatfoot's soon-to-be strike. Flatfoot charged, each step rattling the ground beneath their feet.

Amber eyes locked onto the great charging beast. Chaos smirked as he saw thick saliva flying from the beast's massive jaws, "Ah, the alpha male. I see the biggest was saved for last. Come then beast, and avenge your fallen brothers, we shall soon see who is the true alpha male here."

A roar ripped from Flatfoot's throat as he lunged, aiming his powerful jaws dead-set on Turrok's throat. The echidna smirked and deftly sidestepped the ferocious canine. With Flatfoot chomping, and pursuing him furiously, Chaos dodged and twisted, dancing around the wolf gracefully. What Chaos didn't expect was for Flatfoot's massive, steel tail to whip around and gaze his leg.

Turrok gasped as he fell to the ground, catching himself with his arms at the last second. The tyrant glanced at his injury and grimaced, seeing the bleeding slit in his leg. The girls cheered as Flatfoot slowly circled him, his mechanical brain analyzing and looking for the weakest point to strike. The wolf's high-tech brain came up with the idea of chewing off his arms. The disemboweling would come second.

In a blur of silver and red, the mechanical wolf leapt as a furious snarl ripped from his throat. From his spot on the ground, Chaos smiled. Just as the canine was inches away, Turrok reached out and clenched the Barracuda's jaw. Cream gasped, as Amy bit her lip, hoping Flatfoot would break free from Chaos' hold.

Chaos slowly rose to his feet, a grin on his face as the cybernetic wolf wrestled, struggling within the impossible hold. Amy watched in horror as she saw the emotions swarming within the tyrant's golden eyes: excitement, bliss, and pure madness.

It happened in a split second and Amy barely registered the sound of a snap. In a flood of sparks and high-pitched yelps, Chaos had broken one of Flatfoot's legs. A shower of bright yellow sparks poured from the wound like a substitute of blood. Amy's green eyes went wide in horror at the pain-filled cry Flatfoot emitted, sounding nearly like a real dog.

When a second painful break followed, Amy felt a turbulent fury rise within her core and she lost control. That monster, one-by-one, was breaking Flatfoot's legs. Amy didn't wait for Tails, or for anyone's signal as she charged headstrong at Chaos.

Her senses, her instincts drove her as she raced down the room, streaking past all the lab tables until she was within range of Chaos. Turrok seemed too immersed in his torture to have noticed Amy jetting right at him. But the second he did, the second he glanced up, his wit left him.

Leaping above him was a woman, a hedgehog with strawberry-pink quills and the brightest green eyes he had seen. A crimson and gold hammer was locked tightly within her small hands, elevated menacingly above her head; her intent was clear. Green fire danced within her narrowed eyes, as a feral cry pierced the air.

She looked wrathful like Hera, and yet her features were fair and feminine. The combination of rage and beauty made him think of a cruel angel, a vengeful goddess. For a second Chaos marveled at the way the light and the shadows danced over her body, highlighting and somehow feeding into her antagonism.

The blow from her wrathful anger sent him sprawling across the lab. The angel landed on her feet, standing tall and strong before the fallen Flatfoot. Amy watched carefully, her hammer poised as Turrok rose to his feet; he didn't even look phased.

There was a light, a gleam in his eyes that she didn't trust very much. The way he studied her wasn't the way a competitor sized up a foe, it was closer to the way a man eyeballed a woman. Turrok slowly smiled, allowing his eyes to take in the appealing visage of Amy Rose.

With a snort Amy brandished the hammer at him threateningly, "Not on my watch, pal."

Her feisty demeanor made him think of Tikal. There was just something wonderful, something miraculous about a woman with spirit. There was some kind of seductive charm about a ferocious woman's conduct that just turned him inside _out_. A woman who was fiery and sharp with her words, fierce and hellacious in will and battle, it only made a man wonder what _else_ she did with such passion.

"Challenging me, you inferior female?" Chaos asked, a smile lacing his lips.

"Challenging? I'm knocking you the hell out," Amy narrowed her eyes, steadying her grip and stance, "You gotta go through us to get to the Master Emerald."

That seemed to be the cue that brought Tails and the Tornado to stand by her side, and Flatfoot slowly rose onto shaky, wobbly feet as he unleashed a growl. Somewhere in the background the loading of a gun echoed throughout the room. Daisy glared, the laser pistol cocked and ready as she fixed her aim.

Chaos glanced around at his opponents before he finally finished with Amy, the pink warrior queen. With a smirk he gestured them onward, "Come then, and meet your ultimate annihilation."

--

"Achilles!?" Sonic stammered, his lock still solid upon Shadow.

The golden hedgehog was smiling, giggling erratically; it all made Sonic feel a bit uneasy. This was how Achilles was eighteen years ago, back when he was the golden terror. Before Scythe, or Sonic could move, Achilles smiled as the tips of his fingers glowed in an ethereal shade of blue.

"Beautiful," he breathed, as the pupils in his cerulean eyes constricted.

He spun around and, as he laughed, jarred Scythe in the stomach. Sonic's throat went parched at the sight of Scythe being flung backwards, the blue energy crackling, burning and licking his skin. For a second Sonic released his hold on Shadow to checkup on Scythe.

As Sonic sprinted toward his fallen friend, Achilles took the moment to ram into him, thrusting his shoulder straight into him. With a grunt Sonic went down hard, grimacing as he landed on his stomach. With laughter, Achilles grabbed Sonic's neck and began to choke him, squeezing his throat with all his might.

Sonic clenched his eyes shut as he wheezed, struggling, trying anything to pry the intruding fingers free. But the Gold demon was stronger. And the only sound Sonic could hear was the frantic pace of his heart, and the gleeful laughter of Achilles.

"How do you like that, Hero?" Achilles grinned, eyes narrowed.

The champion hedgehog slowly forced his eyes open as the edges of his vision were blackening, slowly being ebbed away into nothingness. Sonic gasped, clawing weakly at Achilles' fingertips. The bone-crushing pain made him wordless, as he felt his consciousness starting to fade away in a hazy void.

It was unexpected when a sweet rush of oxygen swept into his lungs. Sonic gasped, choking and spluttering as an unnamed force released Achilles from his throat. Sonic rolled over onto his back and saw Shadow piggybacking Achilles, arms wrapped around his throat.

With a snarl Achilles got down on all fours and started to buck and kick furiously like any bull at a rodeo, but Shadow was a persistent rider and held on. When Achilles realized he wasn't letting go, the Gold demon hooked his hands onto Shadow and threw him to the floor.

Achilles smiled as Shadow landed in front of him, splashing out nicely on his back. With a roar Achilles pounced, landing on top of Shadow as their fists met in a bought of fury. Their fight continued as they rolled, punching, and kicking each other with brutal shots.

Shadow felt a dark satisfaction as one of his punches impacted Achilles' cheek solidly. The victory was short-lived as Achilles gave him a crushing blow to the gut. The white-eyed Shadow roared, his fury burning sky high as he shoved Achilles off.

Both warriors scrambled to their feet as they stood, ready to charge at each other again, "I'll shed your blood, Shadow!"

"You…will…PAY!" Shadow roared.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Julie, accompanied by Ceres, Jake and Knuckles stood at the front door. The fire-furred echidna didn't wait a second longer as he sprung, ready to come to Shadow's aid. Ceres watched wide-eyed as Shadow was attacking her friend, Light-Shine. Seconds later, Meda appeared at the door.

The chieftain narrowed her eyes at the sight of the battle, and yet she made no move to intercede. This was her chance to find out about that golden hedgehog. There was just something about him that made her uneasy. A certain amount of power and chaos swarmed him, and it bothered her to no end. But now she would wait, and learn more about him.

With a groan, Sonic slowly opened his eyes, only to have them narrow dangerously. He rose from the ground, face grim and eyes blazing. His line of vision caught Shadow and Achilles fighting, pummeling away at each other. With a furious cry, Sonic darted forward, his movements nothing more than a blue blur.

Before Achilles could land another blow, Sonic materialized out of nowhere, and knocked into him with a furious tackle. Achilles found himself stunned, as he was now flat on his back and winded. The blue hero hovered over him, his face contorted into anger.

His green eyes shone with disappointment and betrayal, "…And to think, I actually _was _on your side."

Achilles reached a hand out, grabbing for Sonic, but the blue hero sidestepped. With a snarl Sonic reached out and kicked Achilles' in the face with all the strength he had. Achilles choked as a red ribbon of blood rolled down his cheek.

Standing beside Sonic, Scythe slowly appeared looking too furious for words. Knuckles approached seconds later, calmly glaring down at him. With a growl Scythe grabbed Achilles by the scruff of his fur and hoisted him into the air.

"Eighteen years ago, maybe we couldn't have defeated you…" Sonic breathed, "But today's a new day."

Achilles narrowed his eyes, his light-blue irises feral and wild, "Fellas…I'd like to see you stop me."

The Gold demon grabbed Scythe's arms and pried them loose. Achilles slammed into his brother, sending him to topple over him both Sonic and Knuckles. The three heroes went down as Achilles stood, gold and vibrant against the night sky. With a chuckle he narrowed his eyes, kicking Scythe in his wound.

But the important thing was, where is Shadow? The one guy here that has it coming to him the worst!? Achilles glanced around furiously, searching for any sign of his claret and ebony rival. Then his blue eyes pinpointed the said hedgehog.

Achilles glanced over toward Shadow; that redhead was looking him over. Shadow lay on his back, looking exhausted, as if he had just finished a marathon. Achilles took a step toward him; they were not done yet! Not by a long shot! If Shadow wanted to pass out, then he'd take his beating unconscious!

Just as he made a second step in Shadow's direction, Julie Robotnik met gazes with Achilles, her dark eyes cold and uncaring for him. The light and warmth returned in her eyes as she gazed down at Shadow. She ran a gentle hand through his quills as she watched him breathe. His rage must have diminished into nothing now as he was left tired and weak.

Achilles glared down at the three warriors, smile fading, "I think its time I finished this. Let's start with you first, big bro."

"Ugh…" Scythe clenched his fingers tightly into the earth, eyes narrowed dangerously, "You bastard…I'll…see you dead..."

Ceres gasped as she watched Knuckles and Sonic spring to their feet and attack her friend. Why were they hurting Light-Shine? She had to help him! The second Ceres took a step out, she noticed Light-Shine wasn't in trouble.

In fact, Achilles had dodged both of Sonic and Knuckles' attacks, and retaliated before they even knew what was going on. Sonic fell to the floor grimacing as Knuckles cursed, taking a knee. The cool, icy blues of Achilles focused solemnly on the form of his brother, "And now…ashes to ashes…dust to dust."

Achilles slowly opened his left palm and a flaring, bright blue light danced within his hand. His cool, serious visage was washed in the glow of the mystical energy. Ceres gasped before she took off, hoping to help her friend. "Light-Shine! Stop!"

"Ceres!!" Julie cried, glancing up from Shadow and focusing upon her young friend.

Ceres tore past Julie, stepped over Scythe and quickly latched onto Achilles. The gold demon didn't even bother with the little girl, acting as if she hadn't even come to him. His half-lidded eyes were only set on Scythe, "Any last words, you poor excuse of a prototype?"

"Yeah…" Scythe panted.

The weak, sluggish glint in his eyes disappeared to be replaced by something furious and bright. Scythe rose onto a knee as he locked a hand around Achilles' leg as his other hand ignited a silver flare of energy. His stone-hued eyes were wild and his teeth were bared, sharp and glinting, "_Go to hell_!"

The crackle and power of Achilles' blue energy meshed terribly with the silver glow of Scythe's. Achilles stared at Scythe perfectly blasé as big brother glared back, teeth bared, eyes slits and anger channeling through his veins. With a frown, Ceres tightened her grip around Achilles' waist, willing to make her Light-Shine stop.

"Scythe! Don't!" Julie cried, taking a step toward the three hedgehogs, "You'll hurt Ceres!! Sonic and Knuckles as well!"

"Fear not lady," Achilles said in a monotone voice, "I will protect Cupcake. It is Scythe who will find himself on the wrong side of my wrath."

"Oh yeah?" The silver light's luminosity flourished, the power pulsing faster, "We'll see about that."

A tweak of static broke forth, intercepting the erratic mood, "_Someone…help…please…"_

The voice was sobbing, she sounded desperate and helpless. The voice belonged to none other than Daisy Hedgehog. The sound of her weepy words quickly diffused the situation. Scythe's eyes widened as the glowing globe of energy in his hand disappeared. Shock even appeared on the face of Achilles; he must have recognized the voice of his Pseudo sister.

"…Daisy…?" Scythe asked, voice no louder than a whisper.

_"Please…Scythe…Sonic…anyone help…" _her voice was strained, quaking of untold horrors, _"Achilles…"_

Achilles' eyes went wide, his glowing cerulean energy fading. Pseudo sister needed his help. She was begging for his assistant. He was _wanted_. Achilles allowed his hand to go limp as he listened in to what his sister-in-law was saying.

_"I…oh what am I supposed to do? We tried…we really tried…But he was…too strong…Not even Flatfoot could stop him…I feel pathetic…I couldn't help my friends, I couldn't protect anyone. Not even Cream."_

Sonic felt his breath catch in his throat; that monster had hurt Cream? The most defenseless, sweetest person in their troupe? What type of black hearted monster went after a noncombatant? What type of fiend hurt a lover and not a fighter? A growl of rage ripped through Knuckles' throat as he forcibly stood to his feet.

_"I'm…so…sorry…" _Daisy choked, her voice breaking as more sobs carried through the walkie-talkie, "_…Sonic…Oh Sonic…"_

The blue hero froze, his eyes widening at the mention of his own name. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the others turning to look at him, but that didn't matter now. What was Shortcake going to tell him? Why did she sound so scared to tell him? _No, no, no, no. Don't say anything. Don't say anything bad happened to my Amykins. _

_"Sonic…I'm so sorry…I can't even express it in words…Chaos…"_

The sound of his wife's worn voice made Scythe snap into action. He quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie and spoke to her, "Dai, what's up?"

_"Oh Scythe!!" _He could just imagine the brilliant smile on her face, and the way those brown eyes he loved would glow with mirth, _"Please Scythe…please help us…"_

Scythe blinked when he realized Sonic was standing over him. The blue hero's face was dead serious as he clicked the speak button. After clearing his throat, he spoke, "Daisy, what were you saying to me? What happened? What happened to Amy?"

_"Sonic…I…" _she was hesitating. She was hesitating! "_Oh Sonic! Amy! Sonic I'm so sorry! It's just…"_

"Stop! _Stop!_" Sonic roared, he missed the cold glare Scythe sent at him, "Quit dancing around and tell me what happened to Amy!"

A fresh sob broke forth, "_I'm…sorry Sonic…but he took her…Chaos has Amy too…Kicking and screaming she fought him until the end, but he kidnapped her. He has her and the Master Emerald in his power now."_

Sonic's thumb slowly slipped off the talk button while he stared at nothing. Why would Chaos want his Amy? Well, why wouldn't he want her? His dear Amykins was a beautiful girl with a nice, trim figure, sparkling green eyes and a cute smile.

She was strong-willed and very outspoken, and very passionate. Yes, Chaos was going to take his beautiful, strong-willed wife and have her for himself. He was going to try and break her, douse that spitfire about Amy that Sonic loved.

A feral roar cut from Sonic's throat, a cry that was both guttural and shrill. A bright flame of blue energy danced around him, heightening his fury. Everyone was staring at him sympathetically, and it really wasn't helping his mood.

Boohoos and condolences weren't going to bring her back. For a second Knuckles swore he saw a gold-furred, red-eyed Sonic staring at him, but when he blinked, Sonic had his customary blue fur. Knuckles went to approach his friend, but Scythe stuck an arm out, inhibiting him. The message was clear; Sonic needed a moment to himself.

The surge of rage left his systems and it left him drained and tired. The blue flame disappeared and Sonic was utterly tired. He was left with nothing but anguish as he collapsed to his knees. His once bright and vibrant green eyes were dull and unseeing.

The front door to the training centre opened and out stepped his handsome son. Flash stared at his father, eyes wide with shock plaguing his features at his father's distress. Vaguely Sonic noticed his son dashing towards him. Man, Flash really does look at lot like Amy…Just like his beautiful mother…

With one last moan, Sonic slumped, glancing longingly at the ebon sky, "…Amy…"

And then he gave into the beckoning darkness.

--

The midnight sky was nothing more than an inky backdrop of muddled indigo and navy blues. In a blitz of green light, Chaos materialized before the Master Emerald's hallowed shrine. The air was crisp and cool as a temperate wind raked an invisible hand through his quills.

Chaos glimpsed up the staircase where he knew his ultimate prize was being held. He glanced at the unconscious figure in his arms. Eyes drawn shut and mouth slightly parted, the pink hedgehog had been no match for his sheer power.

A chuckle escaped his lips as Chaos eyed the slumbering girl. For a hedgehog, the little pink harlot was kind of cute. Her features were appealing and utterly feminine, her scent soft and delightfully sweet, and he remembered that poisonous glint within her eyes when she battled him.

Yes, she would do nicely as a replacement until Tikal willingly gave herself to him. Until then, until that glorious moment, this rose would do nicely as a substitute. For the moment, he gently rested Amy at the bottom of ancient stairwell and quickly ascended until he was level with the Master Emerald.

He stopped walking and glimpsed at the brilliant stone. It was nearly as tall as he was and against the inky night-sky it glowed with a cool fluorescence. The great stone was emitting a soft lull, a quiet hum along with its glowing illumination; its radiance pulsed like the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Turrok felt like smiling; there was no one to stop him from devouring the complete power of the omnipotent power source. No guardians, no rulers, nothing! If only he could see the look on that old shrew's face as he absorbed the power. Oh what he'd give to see the raw, unraveled shocked upon Meda's face!

The more he thought about acquiring his new power, the stronger his desire grew to take the power for himself. The second the urge, the furious want grew too strongly to contain, Chaos plunged. With a thirsty snarl, Chaos wrapped his hands around the stone.

Instantly the Master Emerald grew hot, scorching to the touch. Its once steady, pulsing glow became sporadic and wild, dulling and then shining far too brightly. Its erratic glowing was throbbing like an unsettled heart. Chaos laughed at the great stone's attempt to ward him off; surely it'd have to do better to get rid of someone of his caliber.

Laughter threatened Chaos as he smiled, feeling the stone's pitiful attempts. He spread his fingers further, as if he was choking, smothering the Master Emerald. Slowly the emerald gave in, its glow slowly fading as its power left. Enthralled, Chaos watched with a wide smile as the green light slowly traveled from the stone and into his digits.

The brilliant green radiance traveled through him like jolts of electricity; spreading through his systems rampantly like wildfire. Starting from the tips of his fingers, the jade light jolted through his arms, legs, chest, and throughout his body. It was like someone was giving his body a battery-jump.

It wasn't long before the Master Emerald's green radiance died all together and the stone was completely ebony. Chaos paused for a moment, before he slowly pulled away from the depleted source. He raised his hands to his face, to see if he could observe his new power.

He gasped as a crackle of green energy broke from his hands, like a surge of lightning. Chaos paused, raised his hands back into their prior position and tried again. This time he focused on his power and again he was rewarded with the exhibition of his new strength.

Chaos froze when a noise reached his ears. He could hear every little sound, magnified tenfold: birds chirping, squirrels scampering up and down trees, every little sound of nature. Turrok grimaced; it was all far too loud for his liking! He almost wanted to cry out because the noise of the environment was too boisterous for his sensitive ears.

'_This new hearing is more malignant than it is helpful! I feel as if I might lose my mind!!'_

He frowned as glanced around. There was a new sound he was picking up, one that really hadn't sounded familiar. Chaos took a step forward and found that the weird sound grew louder. He continued to take slow steps until he found himself looking down the stairs. Resting undisturbed at the bottom of the shrine's stairwell was Amy Rose.

Chaos paused, before he continued toward her; was she making that weird noise? If he could describe it, it sounded like a beat? A throb? He stopped until he was standing over her, and now that thumping sound was so strong that it was vibrating loudly within his skull.

He rested his head against her chest and found the source of the sound. Chaos suddenly smiled; he was hearing the calm tempo of her beating heart. He sat up and glared at the pink hedgehog, not really seeing her as he was far too submersed in his own thoughts.

_'Ah, I see that I can focus my hearing onto specific features. That way I can drown out this noisy environment. I can focus on the beating of her heart, or the chirping birds, or even on the wind brushing against the grass. Truly this new power, is exceptional!!'_

When Chaos glanced at Amy he blinked, as if seeing her for the first time. There were finer details he was able to pick up about her. He could see every aspect, how silky and smooth her pink fur was, every single fiber that made her red camisole top. He could even differentiate every different shade of blue of her acid-washed jeans.

The ocher echidna rose to his feet as he glanced at the forest-backdrop. His let out a silent gasp. There was so much more he was seeing now. There were hundreds of more colors he could see now, and his vision was perfectly acute and clear, there wasn't anything he couldn't perceive

The sky alone was at least fifty different shades of azure and violet, and the green forest was such a rich and lush shade of jade. Chaos was stunned, truly awed as he slowly let his gaze slip back onto the unconscious pink hedgehog.

Even her fur was so many different shades of pink and her eyelashes were so plush and long. And her smell, her delicious little scent flooded his senses tantalizingly, beginning for him to taste her sweet flesh. If _this_ inferior hedgehog girl smelt and looked so appealing, Chaos could only imagine what effects the echidna princess would have on his senses.

'_…Sonic…'_

Chaos jumped, glancing around. Now where had THAT sound come from? It was a voice, which he could dictate as female.

_'Sonic…Flash…'_

Turrok glanced down at the pink hedgehog, eyes wide.

_'…I'm sorry…'_

Turrok froze for a moment before a cruel smiled swept over his lips. First he was chortling and then it broke out into a full-out laugh. The power that now coursed through his veins was insane! The power he held was unmatched! No guardian, no hedgehog, no one alive could stop him!

Chaos realized…

…That he could hear thoughts.

--

To say that things were going down hill was an understatement. The heroes had mad-trekked back to the Port-o-lab and found everything in shambles. The heroes walked in to see the warpath Chaos had left behind. His footsteps left behind in the form of his demolition.

The second Achilles entered the third basement, he really wished he wouldn't have altogether. Upon entry, he winced, closing his eyes for a second in a futile attempt to forget what he had just seen. Scythe and Knuckles rushed passed, scathing the ruins for survivors.

Flash entered seconds later to stop beside the gold terror. The young hedgehog glanced at the wrecked scene in wordless horror. The ceiling lights were broken with occasional sparks fluttering to the floor, and the tables were overturned, bent and broken in halves.

"Dai? Daisy!?" the sound of Scythe's deep voice sounding panicked made all heads turn his direction.

Standing some ten feet away was the yellow hedgehog Scythe had been seeking out. Despite a pale face and unseeing eyes, she looked relatively fine, "…Sc-cythe?"

Scythe quickly dashed towards her. He crushed the remains of broken furniture, or anything that impeded his path. He came to a stop before her and took her in with warm silver eyes, "Are you okay, princess?"

"I'm…fine…" she replied, her voice sounded hollow to Scythe's ears, "You need to help the others…especially Cream."

"Cream?" Scythe saw Knuckles whiz by.

The red warrior took a knee to descend beside the fallen rabbit. Even in pain she looked sweetly distressed, her soft features curled in pain. Her long dress, which she always took so much pride and time in to make sure was perfectly clean, was tattered and was indecently torn to reveal her shapely legs which she always had modestly concealed.

Achilles and Flash stopped behind him and quickly kneeled beside Cream. Flash's face instantly went red at seeing Cream's exposed figure. She always wore long, pretty dresses that hid her figure; he didn't know she had it goin' on it that! Since when had Cream had a figure that kickin'?

Flash blinked, paled, then rouged, horrified at where his thoughts had been heading. Oh no, he SO wasn't supposed to be having these kind of thoughts about this woman, Tails' sweet wife! She was like a second mom to him. And she was hurt, she would need their help.

Knuckles bared his teeth; anger flared through him like a livewire, as he clenched a fist tightly; how dare Chaos do something like this, something so vile to a girl as sweet and innocent as Cream, "Damn it…"

"…Fuh…Flash?"

Leaving his perch behind Knuckles, Flash traveled over and pushed a table away to find Tails beneath it. It took everything Flash had to keep his eyes on the fox's face, someplace where he wouldn't notice the broken bones and twisted limbs. The blue hedgehog took a knee, "Unc, don't worry! We're here now."

With a groan, Tails tried to move but was met with Flash's hand to steady him, "Don't move yet. You're gonna be okay, okay?"

Jake stopped before the scraps and twisted metal, the remains that had been Flatfoot. However, McCloud noticed the flickering lights within his creations' eyes. He touched the top of his Barracuda's metal skull, "…How are you feeling, boy?"

There was no response.

"Can you feel anything, Flatfoot?"

Again, nothing.

"…" Jake closed his eyes, but swiftly opened them when he thought of something, "…If you hear me, blink."

The dim, glowing eyes slowly blinked. Somewhere, Flatfoot was there. His lovable electronic pooch was buried somewhere within that malfunctioning scrap. Jake put a large hand on his creation's head and stroked Flatfoot's skull, "…I'm here, boy. I'm here."

Again Flatfoot blinked. Jake narrowed his eyes venomously as he clenched his free fist, "Damn it all!"

Scythe held Daisy in a hug, knowing that his wife was rattled, that Chaos had scared the daylights out of her, "Dai, what's wrong? Did Chaos…did Chaos do anything to you?"

He pulled away from her to glaze into her empty eyes. It was so unnerving to see her like this; her toffee eyes were usually warm and vivacious. They would glow and twinkle with the warmth of her syrupy-sweet spirit. But now they were hollow, like there was no life, no intelligence manifested there.

"…Not…physically…" she replied, her voice dead.

"But I'm…lucky…to be...untouched…" she replied, eyes slowly meeting his.

"What'd he say to you?" Scythe asked, a hand gently caressing her face, "C'mon, you can tell me. Its Scythe, here. You know you have my heart, don't you?"

Daisy continued to stare at him, and for a moment Scythe didn't think she registered his words, let alone his presence. The second he was about to ask again, she spoke, "He said that I wasn't worth touching…Not worth…his time…He just…laughed…So…cold…"

Scythe froze, as if her words had encased him in ice. He blinked, as if this time he didn't register the meaning of her words. He slowly let go of her face and stood tall, where he towered over her easily. His silver irises stared, as if glimpsing past her.

One minute Daisy thought Scythe had become a statue, where he hadn't even blinked, then suddenly he was alive again. A furious roar cut from his throat as he picked up the nearest steel table, and threw it into the wall. Everyone in the room jumped as they turned to stare at Scythe.

Daisy blinked when she realized his silver eyes were a shade of ginger, a hue of fire. Another feral snarl echoed through the room as Scythe punched a hole through the steel floor. Flash blinked, terrified of his rage. They'd have to stop him because he was blindly kicking and destroying things.

When Scythe had enough sense to find an exit, Achilles realized that he was standing in his brother's warpath. _Oh crap._ When the gold hedgehog saw Scythe making a marked path in his direction, Achilles, for a second, thought of getting the hell out of his way.

"That sonvaBITCH!!" Scythe roared, his voice sounding blended with his robotic half, "I'm going to kill him! He'll wish he had lost to Sol!!"

"Scythe!" Flash hopped in the way, "You can't do this! You gotta calm down or—"

Flash didn't see it coming when Scythe, with his robotic arm, smacked him out of his way. Knuckles, Achilles, and Daisy were stunned as they watched Sonic's kid fly into a wall. The second Knuckles was sure Flash wasn't dead, he broke out of his stupor and quickly grabbed Scythe.

Achilles didn't know whether to side with his brother, or help Knuckles. With a sigh, Achilles shook his head and quickly helped restrain his furious brother. Scythe roared and snarled all types of impressive curses.

Scythe's reddish eyes narrowed as they focused on Achilles, "You…Little…Bitch! You're next! After Chaos, I'm taking you out!"

"Calm down brother," Achilles grunted, trying to avoid all claws and punches being thrown his direction.

"You're not a brother to me! You're a monster! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you!!"

Achilles' blue eyes went wide at the amount of venom his voice held. The way his lip curled in bitter disgust, and the way his eyes narrowed, Scythe had meant those words. Man, that one hurt worse than any blow Shadow had ever given him.

The gold hedgehog blinked when he realized someone was talking to him, "…on his head?"

"What?" Achilles asked, still fazing in.

"Where's that switch to shut him off, again? His head?" Knuckled grunted.

A hand roughly gazed the cyborg's scalp and suddenly Scythe's anger died away as his 'shut off.' Jake slowly pulled his hand away and crossed his arms, "If we're going to stop Chaos, then we're going to need to take care of the others and get to the training centre, stat. Let's put that worthless Robotnik girl to use."

"Okay then," Knuckles nodded his head, "Let's go."

"Hey," Flash approached, rubbing a spot on his head he was sure was bleeding or something, "Where's Achilles?"

Knuckles arched an eyebrow; wasn't he just here? Ah, oh well, they had bigger problems to worry about, "Leave 'em. He knows where to find us at. As for right now, let's get out of here."

--

Chaos stood, the night wind playing with his robes and cape. He stood at the base of the Emerald's shrine, reading the ancient dialect inscribed into the Shrine's walls. Well, technically it wasn't ancient to his eyes, as the language had been used in his time. Many of these inscriptions were useless, and praised the Chiefs of the Clan of the Emerald. However somewhere he had to seek out the ones he was looking for.

_Only those of the blessed blood can pray upon the hallowed shrine and seek companionship with the Master Emerald. Their blood is sacred, and their bodies are strong. Courage flows through their veins as does their divine blood. These elite we deem as our guardians…_

No, that's not it.

_Chieftain Meda was the best guardian of our people. She made the rivers blue and the grasses green. Strong as slate and as fair as a mid Autumn rose she began her reign as guardian and chief with fifteen summer behind her. Fur the color of crème and eyes the color of a beautiful sky…_

No…

_The Master Emerald must never be absorbed entirely. There are direly consequences..._

Chaos smirked; bingo. With narrowed eyes, he continued to read the faded inscriptions. His hand trailed the line, as to keep his place in his reading. The more he read, the more he was starting to like his new power.

_If one absorbs the Master Emerald's entire power, the indomitable one will be created. The indomitable one will hold the power of ten suns in his palms. The indomitable one will be immortal, there is nothing of this world that can destroy him. He has the power to create his own army, dead or alive. The indomitable one will hear thoughts, and gaze far distances and hear all. _

_There is no limit to The indomitable one's power or his thirst. It is the duty of the ones with the blessed blood, the Guardians, to keep The indomitable one from being born, or all shall fall…to The indomitable one._

Turrok smiled gleefully, that was what he had become, the indomitable one. One who had no flaws, one who could not be shaken or stopped. This world was his for the taking and there was nothing anyone could do!

_'So can I summon armies, huh? Well then, let me try my hand at such a matter…'_

His eyes slipped shut. Channeling in on his new power. The Indomitable one was searching out his new power.

--

Achilles was strolling around the thickets of Angel Island. His feet took him wherever, he didn't care where he was going. He just had to leave, and be somewhere else. Somewhere away from all the people who hated him and despised his being from the core.

He continued walking into nothingness.

--

A cool wind rippled through her thin clothes and in a heartbeat, Rouge Maria's purple eyes snapped open. She shivered for a bit before she sat up and had a good, bone-cracking stretch. She smiled, surprised at the amount of decent sleep she received for slumbering in a grassland.

A frown etched upon her face as she felt the earth beginning to quake under her.

--

Achilles slowed his steps and narrowed his eyes. Wait, was the ground shaking?

--

Maria slowly glanced up at the sky; she could have sworn earlier she saw the stars. Where had all these brackish, dark clouds come from?

--

The sky was definitely becoming ominous. There was something in the air, something about the atmosphere that made the quills on Achilles' back stand on end. He couldn't explain what this new, foreign feeling in the air was, but it felt unsettling.

Then the shaking stopped.

Achilles stopped walking.

--

Maria blinked; did the shaking just stop?

--

_'What the hell is going on?'_

_--_

_'What the hell is going on'_

_--_

The second Maria glanced around, the earth began to moan. As she rose to her feet, the steady quaking, the groaning grew stronger and worse. What was going on? Maria froze as something she recognized as a hand, broke through the surface of the earth. First there was one, then more popped up until there were hundreds.

Maria's face paled as she stumbled backwards. The hands were soon followed by bony white shoulders and then the skeletons completely surfaced. Maria gaped on horrified at thousands of creatures, dead things were stirring right before their eyes.

They twisted and pulled themselves out of their muddled graves that nothing but wild grass and weeds as company. A couple of the creatures even broke their pathetic slabs of gravestones, as they unearthed themselves. The skeletons moaned, and stretched as if they had rested eons without moving their old joints and bones.

Wide eyed, Maria staggered away from the creatures. Even as aged bones they towered over her ominously. Their blood red garments were torn and weathered from age and battle, scars and indentures were ingrained in their massive bones, and the worst yet were their eyes.

Their eyes were soulless, and yet there was a green mist, an eerie light where irises should have been. From the broken quills, they must have once been echidnas. The undead held various weapons, rusted axes, spears and swords within their bony digits.

Little did Maria know, that these weren't just _any _undead warriors. They were the meanest, cruelest warriors of the lot, they were the fallen warriors of the clan of the Master Ruby. These warriors murdered men, women and children in their feuds; no one was spared their wrath.

It was daunting, the way their glowing, emerald eyes locked upon her. Rouge Maria gasped at the sight of the undead warriors unsheathing their weapons. She began to back away, trying not to notice the way their iridescent jade eyes followed after her. Muffled chuckles slithered from the stale throats of the echidna warriors; Maria tried not to visibly shiver.

As she was backing way, eyes scanning each and every bony face, her back met resistance. Maria quickly spun around, eyes wide, and was met with a skeletal torso. She trailed her eyes up the massive fame until she was staring into the warrior's face. Unlike all the other echidnas, this skeletal solider only had only glowing eye; his other socket had been crushed.

A strong, colossal hand gruffly clenched the front of Maria's pretty top and hoisted her into the air. The bat-hedgehog hybrid gasped, her breath coming in panicked swallows as she was being drawn closer to the tall warrior's festering face. Her eyes darted around, searching for any type of escape, but even trying to pry his fingers loose was futile.

Being no more than several inches away from the undead warrior's face, Maria felt all her sense leave her. She could only stare in undiluted horror; eyes wide and face pale. If she thought she couldn't have been more afraid in her life, she was proven wrong.

When the warrior grinned, spiders and ants crawled from the gasps of his broken and yellowed teeth. There should have been an audible sound the second Maria's sanity snapped. With a shrill shriek, Maria began to kick and thrash, trying to do anything to free herself.

The one-eyed skeleton's grin only stretched wider, more sinister as his free hand searched the confines of his tattered robe. As the white bat kicked and screamed, he pulled a rusted, burgundy-stained machete forth. The moon's soft touch made the weapon glint against the dark backdrop of the jungle.

For a second, the glow of intelligence returned to Maria's purple eyes. Even though every fiber of her body was trembling, Maria raised a glowing fist. The fuchsia energy flared and crackled around her small hand as she cried out, "Chaos Spear!"

With a thrust, Maria pushed her fist into the cavern of the monster's sternum. The fuchsia energy exploded inside of the monster's belly and it unleashed a roar of pain. Maria found herself dropped onto the grassy floor.

She quickly rolled over onto her stomach and quickly rose to her feet. The one-eyed warrior gritted his teeth as his eye flashed in what Maria could only decipher as anger. The echidna released a furious, shrill shriek that made her fur stand on end. It was so high-pitched and unearthly; it sounded like nothing she had heard before.

It was too late when Maria realized he had swung his thick machete at her. Maria grunted as the brute force of his swing knocked her off of her feet. She quickly rolled back onto her feet and started to run. The trees were far too thick to allow her access to the sky, so by covering her wound with her hand, she took off.

She didn't dare look back, for she knew an army of undead warriors were pursuing her.

--

Saying 'What the Hell!?' just didn't cut it at the moment. One moment the earth was shaking and then the next, these bony, zombie echidnas were popping out of the ground like daisies. Achilles thought of himself as a tall guy, but these creatures were enormous. They roared, ripping up from the earth and brandishing their aged weapons at him.

By the time Achilles had returned to his senses, he found that seven of the towering bone warriors had surrounded him. As he glanced at the undead faces in the circle, each warrior looked bloodthirsty, eerie green eyes glowing and hallow.

Low snarls carried from their throats as they gazed at Achilles, imaging tearing him apart. The second one of the warriors leapt at him, they all did. Achilles grunted as he found himself on the wrong side of a jumping. The monsters worked as a unit as several of them held him and the rest attacked him.

With a roar Achilles ignited his blue Chaotic energy. He spun to face a herd of charging warriors. The gold hedgehog narrowed his eyes as he returned the charge. The blue light within his palms grew great until its luminescence washed over his golden form, "Raijingeki!"

In a streak of sapphire light, Achilles felt the constraints of gravity and weight leave his body as he suddenly felt himself soar. The word passed by in a rush, a smear of color and sound as he bolted past his enemies, knocking each of them as he went.

Finally time and space seemed to return to its normal boundaries as the world became clear and Achilles landed on his feet. Behind him where the fallen soldiers, who were even more furious than before. They quickly rose to their feet, the surplus of hate within their eyes untold.

Achilles grimaced; stay and fight these guys, or run like hell? As motivation, he noticed several more undead warriors popping up from the ground. Achilles quickly made up his mind, "Screw this!!"

Again he summoned his blue energy, and called out to the heavens, "Tenkuuha!"

In a streak of blue light, Achilles disappeared from the scene.

--

Panting, Maria hid under the brush of a thick bush. She was planted flat on her stomach, trying to keep her upper lip from trembling. As her heart raced within her sternum, she hoped those things, those monsters wouldn't hear her heart and seek her out.

Was this all real? How could dead men walk again? Even as she closed her eyes she could still see them. She could imagine the foul light of their green eyes, and the faded reds of their torn clothes. Battered swords and weapons were in their arms, and their rotten bones were brackish and grayed from age.

Those unreal, undead creatures were somewhere trying to hunt her down. What would she do if they found her? Better yet, what would they do if they found her? Maria shuttered at such a horrible idea. In her attempt of escape, she hadn't even noticed all the wounds she had accumulated on her face from brushing past the thickest and bushes. Escape was all that mattered.

Maria suddenly fell silent as she heard nearby bushes scuffle. She quickly huddled closer to the ground as she tried to swallow the large lump in her throat. Being scared wouldn't help her right now. She had to be cool and calm if she wanted to keep her hiding place.

But regardless of how silent she was, each sound was steadily growing louder, the footsteps approaching her direction. She clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip; no, no, no! Whoever it was was approaching her! She was found! She had to do something!!

--

He had managed to rid himself of the bad company for a second. Achilles was traveling in quiet part of the island, his eyes scanning and vigilant. He was traveling, trying to walk as light on his feet as possible.

Just as he was passing by, something bright caught his eye. In a sea of greens, his eye caught a flash of white. Normally he would have written it off, but when the white thing moved, his interest was suddenly piqued.

With narrowed eyes and senses alert, on fire, Achilles began to head straight toward the unknown object. With each step he was more than prepared to counter, or to expect anything. If it was one of those bone warriors, they were toast.

What Achilles didn't expect was for a furious, bright-eyed bat to lunge at him. The sight of a fleshed, living being halted his counterstrike. The second of hesitation was all Maria needed to floor the taller hedgehog. With momentum on her side, Maria pounced, taking Achilles to the ground.

Maria growled, her eyes darkening as she summoned a fuchsia flare of energy. It was when she realized that she was staring into cobalt eyes that her animosity died. Just as Maria was cooling her heels, Achilles took the opportunity to toss her aside.

Without a second's delay, both Achilles and Maria rolled onto their feet. They stood several yards apart, analyzing each other as their breaths came in shallow pants. Maria narrowed her eyes; the gold hedgehog looked beatable, Chaos looked far more intimidating.

It was then that Achilles really had the chance to study his foe: Pristine white fur, a decently strong build, large black wings. Did that remind him of anyone? His eyes widened at the sight of her. She was…No, she couldn't be…

"…Rouge?"

The batgirl growled and just as she took a step forward, her face contorted in pain as she dropped to a knee. Achilles halted for a second before he continued to approach her. She couldn't be Rouge, but then again, he had seen her with his own two eyes.

Maria moaned, slowly bringing her head to look up at the approaching hedgehog. What was she thinking, trying to take this guy on in her condition? The wound on her torso was hurting like something else. Rouge Maria felt her vision blurring in and out as the gold hedgehog stooped to a knee.

With a groan, Maria pulled her hand from her chest and revealed the bleeding wound. The last thing she saw was a glance of shock pass over the hedgehog's face, and then she blacked out.

--

'_Holy shit, is that Rouge!? It can't be…'_

Achilles was caught, pondering to himself the same question over and over again. He glanced down at the unconscious girl a ways from him. He had moved her someplace near the water, on the most comfortable thatch of grass he could find. Every now and then she would turn over and moan, muttering incoherently to herself.

It looked as if they had escaped the walking dead, momentarily. With one final shift, Maria suddenly became aware of how cold it was and she awoke. As she sat up, she felt a burning stab of pain in her torso and she cursed, pretty violently.

A soft chuckle alerted her of her unknown company, "Awake, Rouge?"

Approaching with a bucket in hand was the gold hedgehog. He was strolling towards her slowly with his true expression veiled by his cool temperament. Maria's vision may have been a bit hazy, but by all standards the gold hedgehog was…pretty cute. And by pretty cute, she meant –please-have-your-way-with-me cute.

Regardless, giving trust to a blind stranger was pretty stupid. Maria narrowed her eyes as she tried to stand to her feet. When she realized it was a no-go, she just opted for glaring, "…Did you just call me Rouge?"

"…" Achilles dropped a pale of water beside her.

"…I'm Maria," she was still squinting at him suspiciously, "Who are you?"

The cool expression on his face was broken for a second as surprise glazed over his features. She could tell he just figured something out; had a silent epiphany. He dropped to a knee as he glanced at her, "Are you…Rouge's…daughter?"

"You called me Rouge," Maria breathed, "How do you know my mother? And who the hell are you!?"

"Look," Achilles replied, "It's not too important at the moment. I'm Achilles and we gotta get you better before those zombie-echidnas come back around, okay? I promise I'll tell you everything afterwards. You saw 'em too, right?"

An image of the rusted machete striking, piercing her skin came to mind. She remembered the utter fury glowing in the one-eyed echidna's bony face and remembered the swift pain the second the machete glided over her skin. She shuddered at the thought, "Yeah, I saw them…"

Maria fell silent, thinking over his offer; why did his name ring a bell? His name, Achilles, it was something she should know, something she should have been familiar with. While she was lost pondering, Achilles dunked a scrap of cloth into the pale and looked to face her. Before the towel could touch her face, Maria slapped his hand, "Don't touch me!"

"What? But I'm trying to help you!"

"I said leave me alone!"

Again Achilles tried to wipe her face, but Maria ducked his hand and bared her teeth at him. Achilles growled deep in his throat; what was she doing? Couldn't she see that he was trying to help her? If they kept screwing around like this, then those zombies might find them!

"Maria, this is stupid!"

"Yeah, well bite me!"

The gold hedgehog continued to try to clean the blood off the girl's face with a flimsy piece of cloth. Every time he came anywhere near her, she recoiled or struck out at him. After a couple of minutes of their battling, Achilles conceded to his temper and threw the rag at Maria. He glared at her just as viciously as she did, "What the _hell _is your problem!? Can't you see that I'm trying to help you?"

Panting, Maria glared back at him stonily, eyes alit with suspicion, "You won't get near me."

"I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't care."

"Are you stupid!? I said--"

"I don't trust you," Maria growled, voice deep and saturated with contempt, "I don't trust you at all."

An icy, intense silence hung awkwardly between the two of them. Achilles, with his eyes squinted angrily, leaned back on his heels and glared away from her. There had to be a way to get the girl to join up with him, see eye to eye with his logic. The only way they truly had a shot at helping the others was to work together. Individually, now that Chaos had the Master Emerald, there was no way that their solo efforts could stop them.

"Maria, let's get one thing straight. I understand why don't trust me, but we need to work together. You know about Chaos, right? And you saw those zombie-things, am I right?"

"Go to--"

"--And if we don't team up, then we won't be able to even have a shot at beating Chaos. Don't you want to save your dad? Don't die out like your mother! You've gotta live!"

Sharply purple eyes focused on Achilles. Behind the utter fury in her eyes, there was realization; sorrow. It looked as if Achilles had picked the correct words to say. Now that Achilles was sure that he had the girl's attention, he nodded his head and began again, "My ego's going to kick my ass for saying this, but I need your help and even as reluctant as you are to admit it, you need me too."

Trying to look as non-hostile as possible and making sure to never break eye contact, Achilles reached for the damp rag again. Slowly he drew the cloth to Maria's face. At first she shied away from him and flinched, but then her tensed shoulders relaxed and she allowed him to clean her battered face. She shut her eyes tight and forced herself to sit impossibly motionless, unresponsive. With extra delicacy Achilles washed away the filth on her face.

Achilles wiped the blood away from her nose and scrubbed the cuts on her face. After rinsing the rag a few times in the pail, the water, once clear, was tainted a shade of cranberry. Wordlessly, he rang out the towel and studied the now compliant girl. For a second he moved his eyes from her face, then rose to prepare a new pail of fresh water.

"One more area to clean," she barely heard his low voice.

"What?" Maria finally sprung to life, "Where are you going to clean--"

Her once pristine, white shirt was dampening into a dark shade of scarlet. The wound had to be somewhere near her torso. Then it hit Maria. _Her torso_; she blanched visibly and placed a hand to her chest. Now was she really going to let him touch her there? Hell, would she let any boy touch her there!?

In fact she could recall a couple of times at school when a few audacious boys had tried to cop a feel. She had responded fluidly with near mechanical reflexes and decked them with a good blow to the face. If they had really managed to make her mad, then she would have slapped them. So would she be slapping Achilles? Just as her discomfort was manifesting, the object of her musing returned.

He stooped to his knees again and soaked the cloth in clean water. He took a deep breath before he spoke; he just hoped that he could keep his voice level, maybe not strained, but perfectly controlled, "Maria, you have another wound. I must clean it or you could become seriously ill."

Maria sat quietly, almost timidly and Achilles almost wanted to laugh; so this was the same girl who burned holes through him with her furious glares and spat fire every time she spoke to him. He lifted her chin so that her eyes met his, "Do you trust me?"

Hesitant, emotion flashed through her eyes fiercely. She looked to be racking her brain for an answer. After her internal struggle, her gaze lightened remarkably and she gulped, "Y-yes…" This brought an actual small smile to Achilles' face, "Thank you."

He repositioned Maria, trying with all his might to make her comfortable and fitted her solidly against a tree. She sat upright with dark eyes watching him meticulously. Even more delicate than the first time he touched her, Achilles barely lifted her shirt, just enough to get a glimpse of the white fur commingled with dark burgundy blood. It looked as if the wound started on her hip and worked its way upward.

Achilles dunked the towel in another surge of water and began dabbing the blood away from her wounds. If he applied full pressure now, he was more than sure that the pain would be unbearable; she was grimacing just from his soft wipes now. Once he finished clearing the blood away in that area of her body, he moved from her hipbone to her stomach and swathed the wound clean.

Still, traces of red rivulets dripped down her stomach, which Achilles subconsciously noticed, was nice and firm. As if she worked out or something. But he wasn't going to tell her that; what would she think of that? Just as he elevated her shirt a little more, he felt her stiffen. He also swore that he heard her whimper. Achilles' blue eyes met hers momentarily, posing a question, '_Do you trust me?_'

Maria blinked back at him but made no move to prevent his actions. Achilles smiled and raised her shirt, trying his hardest to focus on the bloody wound on her torso. As he patted the blood away, he heard her release a sigh, as if she had been holding her breath the whole time.

'_Trust me girlie, you're not the only one here who's been holding their breath. You try _not_ to check out that body_. _Daddy must be proud that you have all that..'_

"There," Achilles sighed, more exasperation leaking in his voice then he had intended, "All done Maria." Maria pulled her shirt down anxiously. Although her face was flushed from embarrassment she still managed to thank him, "Th-thank you."

Achilles looked back at her one last time. He caught a small smile on her face and he turned to walk off. Those eyes and that smile; it almost made this entire ordeal worth it. He would forever carry that gorgeous face of Maria's in his memory.

**To be continued!**

-I promise I'll put the reviews up later! :)


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